title: National survey of endodontists and selected patient samples: infectious diseases and attitudes toward infection control.
abstract: A survey was conducted of 591 patients from endodontic practices located in six large municipalities in the United States. A comparison was made between the self-reported incidence of transmissible diseases from patients medical histories to national statistics for the incidence of hepatitis B, herpes, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. A national survey of 422 endodontists was also conducted. This survey was used to determine the beliefs and attitudes of practicing endodontists toward infection control techniques and infectious diseases. Compared with previous surveys, a trend toward increasing use of the hepatitis B vaccine, gloves, and greater acceptance of medically compromised patients was found.
authors.affiliation: University of the Pacific, School of Dentistry, San Francisco, Calif., USA.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: BeGole
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill / Q000523:psychology; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D004708:Endodontics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005932:Gloves, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000523:psychology; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016635:Universal Precautions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines