Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to assess the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on dental healthcare workers (DHCWs) during the pandemic. Due to frequent exposure to aerosol-generating procedures, DHCWs are at an increased risk of a SARS-CoV-2 infection, increasing their mortality risk. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to ascertain the mortality of DHCWs attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection from databases in the public domain during the pandemic. METHODS: The data were obtained from three public-domain online databases: Medscape, FNOMCeO, and X. All collected data from March 2020 to May 2024 were merged into a tabulated format. An analysis was conducted on the data collectively and through a subgroup analysis based on the country, detailed profession, age, gender, and date of death. RESULTS: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, 100 DHCWs were deceased. The DHCWs in the study were employed in 14 countries, with the United States (40%) and Italy (34%) listing the highest percentages of deaths of these workers. Dentists constituted 79% of the total DHCWs. The gender distribution among the deceased was 85 (85%) men and 15 (15%) women. The age of 57 deceased DHCWs was known, resulting in a mean age of 58 years (ranging from 28 to 88). The DHCWs at ages 60 to 70 years (49%) exhibited the highest mortality rate from SARS-CoV-2. The date of death was known for 73 DHCWs, who were deceased between March 2020 and February 2023. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: During the global pandemic, DHCWs worked in the context of general practice. The DHCWs adhered to infection prevention protocols according to standard guidelines and incorporated new adjunctive measures, especially for the pandemic, including adopting coronavirus disease 2019 guidelines for oral healthcare. These measures provided satisfactory protection, with less than 0.006% mortality of the estimated DHCWs worldwide.