title: Italian multicenter study on infection hazards during dental practice: control of environmental microbial contamination in public dental surgeries.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Igiene e Medicina Preventiva, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via P, Manzella 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy. paolo.castiglia@uniss.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castiglia
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Montagna
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.forename: Cesira
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pasquarella
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergomi
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fabiani
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monarca
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petti
mesh_terms: 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