Infection control among dentists in private practice in Durban.
The general fear, superstition and alarm surrounding HIV/AIDS warrant that the highest standards of care be available to our patients. A survey on infection control was undertaken in Durban to assess the current state of infection control procedures among dentists in private practice. A self-administered 44-item questionnaire was hand-delivered to a random sample of 75 dentists (31.3%)--see comments in Methods--in private practice. The response rate was 90.7% (68 dentists). The routine use of gloves, masks, and protective eyewear was reported by 97.1%, 82.4% and 52.9% of dentists respectively. Although 89.7% of dentists had autoclaves in their practices, only 45.2% autoclaved their high speed handpieces and 39.7% their slow handpieces. Almost 60% of dentists did not use rubber dam at all whilst 46.3% did not disinfect impressions before sending them to the laboratory. Approximately 6% of respondents reported re-using local anaesthetic cartridges and 1.5% re-used needles. Needlestick injuries in the previous six months were reported by 13.8% of dentists but two thirds of them did not follow any specific protocol after injury. Almost 90 per cent of dentists were immunised against Hepatitis B but more than 60% of their staff were not. The results of the study showed that adherence to universally accepted guidelines for infection control remain low amid a climate of an ever-increasing HIV pandemic.
Yengopal
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V
Dept of Community Dentistry, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Tygerberg, 7505. vy@sun.ac.za
Naidoo
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S
Chikte
U M
UM
D000328:Adult; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000295:instrumentation; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003754:Dental High-Speed Equipment; D003761:Dental Impression Technique / Q000295:instrumentation; D003797:Dental Staff; D003815:Dentists; D004203:Disinfection; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D005135:Eye Protective Devices; D005260:Female; D005932:Gloves, Surgical; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D019552:Infection Control, Dental; D008297:Male; D008397:Masks; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000145:classification; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D011331:Private Practice; D016733:Rubber Dams; D013019:South Africa; D013242:Sterilization / Q000295:instrumentation
D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines