Evaluation of the opinions of dental technicians working in the republic of Turkey on the COVID-19 pandemic process

Objective: The aim of the study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental technicians in the Republic of Turkey. The aim is not only to collect and analyze data, but also to highlight how dental technicians in Turkey are handling the pandemic process and to measure their level of knowledge. It is thought that our study will contribute to the literature and dentists in terms of the behaviors and knowledge levels of dental technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic process. In this process, the change in the workload of dental technicians in all regions of the Republic of Turkey, the measures taken by the dental technician to protect himself, the physician and the patient will be examined. In the light of the data obtained from our survey, in which the exploratory research model was applied, it is aimed to provide dental technicians with accurate information about work planning and sterilization-disinfection practices in dental laboratories. Method: In the study, developed online via Google forms on the internet in order to evaluate the behaviors of dental technicians in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic process; A questionnaire consisting of 31 questions was created, including the change in the workforce of technicians, the implementation of COVID-19 procedures, protection against the virus, their knowledge levels about COVID-19 and their sociodemographic information. 118 dental technicians participated in our study. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v25 (Version 24.0; IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Conclusion: The vaccination rates of dental technicians are insufficient in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions. In contact with dentures and impressions, female dental technicians gave more importance to male dental technicians to use gloves and paid more attention to disinfecting dentures before sending them to clinics. Young dental technicians have paid more attention to implementing the COVID-19 guidelines/protocol recommended for dental laboratories than older technicians. Key words: covid-19, dental technician, survey