Italian multicenter study on infection hazards during dental practice: control of environmental microbial contamination in public dental surgeries.
BACKGROUND
The present study assessed microbial contamination in Italian dental surgeries.


METHODS
An evaluation of water, air and surface microbial contamination in 102 dental units was carried out in eight Italian cities.


RESULTS
The findings showed water microbial contamination in all the dental surgeries; the proportion of water samples with microbial levels above those recommended decreased during working. With regard to Legionella spp., the proportion of positive samples was 33.3%. During work activity, the index of microbial air contamination (IMA) increased. The level of microbial accumulation on examined surfaces did not change over time.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings confirm that some Italian dental surgeries show high biocontamination, as in other European Countries, which highlights the risk of occupational exposure and the need to apply effective measures to reduce microbial loads.
Castiglia
Paolo
P
Istituto di Igiene e Medicina Preventiva, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via P, Manzella 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy. paolo.castiglia@uniss.it
Liguori
Giorgio
G
Montagna
Maria Teresa
MT
Napoli
Christian
C
Pasquarella
Cesira
C
Bergomi
Margherita
M
Fabiani
Leila
L
Monarca
Silvano
S
Petti
Stefano
S
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018441:Biofilms; D003748:Dental Equipment / Q000382:microbiology*; D003770:Dental Offices; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007875:Legionella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014871:Water Microbiology