Occupational exposures and infection control among students in Nigerian dental schools.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the incidence of occupational exposures to body fluids and infection control practices among students in Nigerian dental schools.


METHODS
A self-administered questionnaire survey of 112 students from three Nigerian dental schools.


RESULTS
57 (50.9%) of the students had experienced one or more occupational exposures in the previous six months. There was no statistically significant association between year group and reported number of exposures (p > 0,05). There was also no statistically significant association between sex and reported number of exposures (p > 0.05). 50.7% of the exposures were percutaneous injuries, 26.1% splatter of saliva and 23.2% splatter of aerosol. Percutaneous injuries were most frequently caused by scalers (42.9%) and needlesticks (37.1%) Most incidents occurred during scaling (37.7%),use of dental handpiece (21.7%) and cleaning of instruments (18.8%). 96.4% of the exposures were not reported. Only 36.6% of the students were immunized against Hepatitis B. None of those immunized had been post-screened for seroconversion. The routine use of gloves, masks and protective eyewear was reported by 87.5%, 65.5% and 17% of students respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates a high rate of exposure to body fluids and low compliance with infection control guidelines. There is a need for interventions to improve safe work practices, hepatitis B vaccination, HBV post-immunization serology and use of protective barriers. Also appropriate policies and procedures are needed for reporting and managing exposures.
Utomi
I L
IL
Department of Child Dental Health, College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
D000328:Adult; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires