Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 1

InterimAnalysis Finds Low Rates of COVID-19 Among Canadian Dentists Title: The incidence of COVID-19 among dentists practicing in the community in Canada: A prospective cohort study over a six‑month period Authors: SreenathMadathil,WalterL.Siqueira, Lina M. Marin, Farisa Banu Sanaullam, Nancy Faraj, Carlos R. Quiñonez, Mary McNally, Michael Glogauer, and Paul Allison Goal: Dental care settings potentially carry a high risk of cross-infection between dentists and patients and among dental staff due to close contact and aerosol-generating procedures. This study aimed to estimate COVID-19 incidence rates among Canadian dentists over a six-month period. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 644 licensed dentists across Canada that included an online questionnaire every 4 weeks. A subset of the group also mailed in saliva samples every 4 weeks that were tested for COVID-19. The median age of participants was 47 years, with the majority being female (56.4%) and general practitioners (90.8%). Results: Six participants reported COVID-19 infection during the study period, giving an incidence rate of 5.10 per 100,000 person-days. The incidence proportion for dentists was estimated to be 1,084 per 100,000 dentists. The incidence proportion for the general population in Canada was 1,864 per 100,000 persons during the same period. Conclusion: The low infection rate observed among Canadian dentists over the period July 2020 to February 2021 is reassuring to the dental and general community. 22 | 2022 | Issue 1