Table 2 Precautionary measures taken by dental hygienists who continued to work after the outbreak of COVID-19
From: COVID-19 pandemic and dental hygienists in Italy: a questionnaire survey
Item | n (%) | |
|---|---|---|
Before patient arrival | Phone Triage | 1371 (64.60) |
Spaced appointments as not saturate the waiting room | 1078 (58.80) | |
Deferring therapies in elderly patients, or with systemic diseases | 800 (37.70) | |
Detecting body temperature of all co-workers and leave those with a temperature above 37.5°C. | 239 (11.26) | |
In the waiting room | Disinfection of push buttons, POS, chairs, several times a day | 1335 (62.91) |
Disinfection of the handles several times a day | 1420 (66.92) | |
Verify the patient's current health status on access | 1398 (65.88) | |
Detecting the patient's body temperature | 281 (13.24) | |
Washing the patient's hands | 1391 (65.55) | |
Space of at least one meter between patients | 1198 (56.46) | |
Mask for the patient | 348 (16.40) | |
Frequent ventilation of waiting rooms | 1643 (77.43) | |
Removal of magazines and books from the waiting area | 1275 (60.08) | |
Storage of coats, bags and other items outside the operating area | 808 (38.08) | |
In the operating room | Pre-operative rinse with mouthwash containing 1% hydrogen peroxide | 378 (17.81) |
Pre-operative rinse with mouthwash containing chlorhexidine 0.12-0.2% | 1468 (69.18) | |
Pre-operative rinse with mouthwash containing 0.2-1% iodopovidone | 126 (5.94) | |
Pre-operative rinse with mouthwash containing alcohol and essential oils | 49 (2.31) | |
Pre-operative rinse with mouthwash with Cetylpyridinium chloride at 0.05-0.10% | 65 (3.06) | |
Rinse with diluted mouthwash | 55 (2.59) | |
Ventilation of the operating area for at least 10 minutes after each patient | 1506 (70.97) | |
Disinfection of surfaces with 70% ethyl alcohol | 680 (32.05) | |
Disinfection of surfaces with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite | 274 (12.91) | |
Disinfection of surfaces with usual disinfectant with others active ingredients | 1313 (61.88) | |
Washing operators' hands before and after each procedure | 1854 (87.37) | |
Removal of all disposable protective devices and disinfection of devices | 1573 (74.13) |