Survey of COVID-19 self-isolation patterns in UK dental professionals: initial findings (February – April 2020)

Aim: Dentistry is routinely associated with aerosol generating procedures (AGP). AGP has been suggested as a possible route for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and may place the dental team at increased risk of infection. In the absence of widespread testing of the dental workforce to ascertain the incidence SARS-CoV-2, a web-based self-reporting survey captured self-isolation patterns in dental professionals. Method: A web-based closed questionnaire via the Survey Monkey platform captured reported COVID-19 self-isolation patterns in the dental team. Results: : A total of 3,309 responses were collected. 2,888 (87.3%) responses contained valid data. 26.8% of respondents reported self-isolating. Of these 31.2% did so because they were suffering from COVID-like symptoms, 21.3% in order to protect a vulnerable member of their household, 25.7% because a member of their household was suffering from COVID-19 like symptoms, and 21.8% self-isolated in to protect themselves. The patterns of self-isolation of those who self-isolated due to COVID-like symptoms differed from the other three groups. Conclusion: Despite the inherent limitations of self-reporting surveys, a web-based self-reporting questionnaire rapidly captured self-isolating patterns in dental professionals. Those professionals who self-isolated due to COVID-like symptoms appeared to isolate earlier than those other groups. The initial findings from this survey would suggest that dental professionals have not experienced disproportionately higher levels of COVID-like symptoms.