“During the COVID-19 pandemic, provincial and territorial dental regulatory bodies, both those for dentists and for hygienists, communicated about COVID-19 risks in the dental office, new protocols and guidelines for patient care,” says Dr. Sreenath Madathil, a faculty member in Dental Medicine & Dentists’ Attitudes on the Communication of COVID-19 Guidelines and Protocols Dr. Sreenath Madathil Reference: 1. McLaughlin KJ, Khanna M, Allison PJ, Glogauer M, McNally ME, Quiñonez C, Rock L, Siqueira W and Madathil SA. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2024 Aug;52(4):462-68. Dr. Madathil and his colleagues performed a qualitative analysis nested within a prospective longitudinal cohort study in which data were collected using online questionnaires of 644 Canadian dentists, taken at regular intervals between August 2020 and November 2021. The group also studied COVID-19 infection rates among dentists and dental hygienists, which they published separately. “During the pandemic, regulatory bodies put out COVID-19 related information on their websites and emailed dentists about appropriate PPE, updated infection prevention and control, how to screen patients, and how to use teledentistry, among other topics,” says Dr. Madathil. “Information changed quickly, which was hard but unavoidable. Also, because there are so many regulatory bodies, the information wasn’t always aligned. Do we need N95s or not? Sometimes, information was presented in very long documents that were hard to navigate.” The study findings were that dentists encountered challenges and frustrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, grappling with diverse regulations and communications from dental bodies. Although some bodies offered helpful guidance, many participants felt the need for improved communication on such guidelines. Dentists wanted expedited, clearer and more frequent updates, and expressed that it was difficult to navigate the overwhelming information. Negative views emerged on any vague and unclear communication of COVID-19 guidelines, contributing to confusion and frustration among dentists. “Dentists responded more positively when it was clear that guidelines were evidence-based,” says Dr. Madathil. The study also suggested that greater collaboration among regulatory bodies might help dentists more easily navigate their messaging. “Trust in our regulatory institutions is an important part of effectively navigating a crisis like the pandemic,” he says. “Successful communication can increase trust.” Oral Health Sciences at McGill University and co-author of a study1 on how dentists perceived the communications from regulatory bodies during the pandemic. “We wanted to see how effective COVID-19 communications were, during a time of such distress, and how dentists felt about their usefulness.” 15 Issue 1 | 2025 |
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