Dental health care waste disposal among private dental practices in Bangalore City, India

Any waste generated consequent to health care activity including any from a home environment is health care waste. Dental practices generate large amounts of waste cotton, plastic, latex, glass and other materials much of which may be contaminated with body fluids. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of private dental practitioners on health care waste management in Bangalore City. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 432 private dental practitioners in Bangalore City using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: 389 dentists responded; 64.3% do not segregate waste before disposal and 47.6% hand over health care waste to street garbage collectors; 42.1% felt that there was a lack of waste management agency services and 16.9% felt that a lack of knowledge were the main hurdles. CONCLUSIONS: Dentists need education regarding health care waste disposal methods to improve their knowledge. A large proportion of the dentists are not practising proper methods of health care waste disposal. The existence of legislation governing healthcare waste disposal is not sufficient alone to motivate many practitioners to comply with guidelines.     

Current biomedical waste management practices and cross-infection control procedures of dentists in India

Objectives: To investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of dentists working in dental clinics and dental hospitals regarding biomedical waste management and cross‐infection control. Methods: A national survey was conducted. Self‐administered questionnaires were sent to 800 dentists across India. Results: A total of 494 dentists responded, giving a response rate of 61.8%. Of these, 228 of 323 (70.6%) general dentists reported using boiling water as a sterilising medium and 339 (68.6%) dentists reported disposing of hazardous waste such as syringes, blades and ampoules in dustbins and emptying these into municipal corporation bins. Conclusions: Dentists should undergo continuing education programmes on biomedical waste management and infection control guidelines. Greater cooperation between dental clinics and hospitals and pollution control boards is needed to ensure the proper handling and disposal of biomedical waste.     

Infection Control in the Indian Health Service Dental Program: Estimated Costs and Effects on Productivity

The dental literature contains many recommendations defining standards for infection control. Little information is available, however, documenting the cost of implementing these standards. This article describes the cost incurred by the Indian Health Service Dental Program in the Oklahoma area between 1985 and 1988 for infection control. During this period, comprehensive infection control recommendations were published for oral health programs serving Native Americans and data were collected on supply utilization. While productivity data were collected for that same time period do not support the premise that infection control practices lead to decreased clinical productivity, infection control supply costs did increase over fourfold during this period.     

Gender differences in characteristics, infection control practices, knowledge and attitudes related to HIV among Ontario dentists

Abstract We surveyed 5,997 dentists in Ontario to investigate gender differences in the characteristics, infection control practices, knowledge and attitudes regarding the treatment of HIV-infected patients. The response rate was 70.3%. Reports indicated that female dentists are younger and more likely to work in larger urban centres (P<0.00001), and in general practice (P<0.0001) than their male counterparts. Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that many significant gender differences in the univariate analyses could be explained by the confounding influence of age, practice location, and specialty; however, some differences remain significant: Women were more likely than men to report attending continuing education dealing with HIV/AIDS in the past two years (P<0.001), and to use masks and eye protection (P<0.00001). Men reported more economic concerns than women: they were more concerned about the financial burden of infection control costs (P<0.00001), and losing patients from their practice if it is known that they treat patients with HIV (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in willingness to provide treatment for patients with HIV. We conclude that there is little evidence to show that access to oral care for patients with HIV is affected by gender differences.     

Psychological aspects of infection control and the care of the patient with HIV in dentistry

HIV presents a number of challenges to the dentist. There is a need to control infection risks and, in spite of all the information available, a minority of dentists still have incomplete infection control procedures. The reasons for this and the implications for dental education are explored. There is also a need to ensure that the patient is optimally managed by the dentist and the importance of linkages to other services and the likely demands of patients on the dentist are reviewed. Finally the impact of treating the patient with HIV disease on the dentist and ways of minimising stress associated with the work are considered.     

Compliance with infection control recommendations in South African dental practices: a review of studies published between 1990 and 2007

In a country where the prevalence of infectious diseases ranks among the highest in the world, infection control in health care facilities should not be debatable. This unfortunately does not seem to be the case in South African oral health care facilities. This study is a systematic review of available literature on the adherence of South African oral health care professionals to infection control recommendations. Nine focus areas were investigated with regard to infection control practices: knowledge of infectious occupational hazards; personal hygiene and care of hands; correct application of personal protective equipment; use of environmental barriers and disposable items; sterilisation (recirculation) of instruments and handpieces; disinfection (surfaces) and sound housekeeping; management of waste disposal; quality control of dental unit waterlines, biofilms and water; as well as other special considerations. Although South African studies are limited and most of them relied on self‐reports, which could have resulted in a serious overestimation of compliance, even these studies indicate serious shortcomings with regard to infection control practices in oral health care facilities in this country. This review highlights opportunity for improvement. Furthermore, it identifies possibilities for future research in infection control and also opportunities to improve infection control education for all oral health care workers in the country.     

Oral Hygiene Instruction and Health Risk Assessment in Dental Practice

We studied oral hygiene instruction given to 109 patients in 19 Washington State dental practices to investigate the extent to which therapists targeted their efforts toward patients with high disease risk. Patients were examined prior to instruction and prophylaxes. Therapists' instructions were tape-recorded and their content analyzed: therapists' expectations were scored. There were no statistically significant associations between patients' initial plaque levels and the process/content of the oral hygiene instructions delivered. On average, therapists spent 9.4 minutes of each prophylaxis session discussing oral hygiene. Therapists were judged more genuine with those patients for whom they had higher expectations of compliance, i.e., those with less plaque and low disease risk. We conclude that dental practitioners were not employing effective risk assessment strategies in selection of patients most in need of intensive instructional efforts.     

Variations in tobacco control in National Dental PBRN practices: the role of patient and practice factors

We engaged dental practices enrolled in The National Dental Practice‐Based Research Network to quantify tobacco screening (ASK) and advising (ADVISE); and to identify patient and practice ­characteristics associated with tobacco control. Dental practices (N = 190) distributed patient surveys that measured ASK and ADVISE. Twenty‐nine percent of patients were ASKED about tobacco use during visit, 20% were identified as tobacco users, and 41% reported being ADVISED. Accounting for clustering of patients within practices, younger age and male gender were positively associated with ASK and ADVISE. Adjusting for patient age and gender, a higher proportion of non‐whites in the practice, preventive services and proportion on public assistance were positively associated with ASK. Proportion of tobacco users in the practice and offering other preventive services were more strongly associated with ASK and ADVISE than other practice characteristics. Understanding variations in performance is an important step toward designing strategies for improving tobacco control in dentistry.     

气溶胶传播风险与口腔诊疗综合防控策略

口腔喷溅操作产生喷溅物、飞沫与气溶胶,当感染因子存在时,主要通过接触和飞沫传播。本文通过空气传播疾病风险模型分析,阐明预防气溶胶传播的重点为感染源管理、加大通风、减少暴露时间和正确使用防护口罩。通过对气溶胶产生和污染的分析,提出应加强水气路管理和喷溅行为控制,进行有效的空气和物表消毒、加强人员防护。基于感染链分析,阐述标准预防和附加预防措施在切断传染性疾病传播中的作用,提出口腔诊疗的感染防控需体现系统性、全面性和循证性。     

对口腔诊室中飞沫和气溶胶的认知与感染防控措施

口腔操作因喷溅可产生大量飞沫,进而转化为飞沫核以气溶胶的形式悬浮留存于诊室空气中。飞沫和气溶胶均可能携微生物造成院内的污染,对临床医护人员及患者健康造成潜在威胁。本文通过对生物气溶胶研究领域涉及的一些概念和口腔诊室飞沫和气溶胶的干预措施进行文献回顾和梳理,以明晰现有文献资料中是否有气溶胶携菌的试验证据,为传染病疫情期间口腔临床工作的防控策略制定提供指导,也为日常口腔诊疗工作的院感管理和防控措施的实施提供参考。     

口腔诊疗中新型冠状病毒感染的防控

新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)疫情在短期内扩散至全球多个国家和地区,确诊和死亡病例数持续上升,成为被世界卫生组织认定的"国际关注的突发公共卫生事件"。正确的防控措施可以阻断新型冠状病毒在医院内的传播,降低感染风险,有效防止疫情进一步扩散。口腔专业因诊疗操作的特殊性,交叉感染的风险较高,严格的防控措施尤其重要。本文从新型冠状病毒的流行病学特点、口腔诊疗医院感染特点、患者评估以及诊疗操作和环境的防控等方面进行阐述,并提出相应的建议。     

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情期口腔专科感染防控的应急管理

本文根据国家有关新型冠状病毒感染防控要求和突发公共卫生事件应急条例,以及口腔专科的临床诊疗特点,参考国内外口腔诊疗中感染防控相关指南和文献,结合医院疫情期口腔诊疗中感染防控的应急管理工作举措,提出应对此次新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情期医院感染防控的建议,重点聚焦疫情期医务人员防护培训及医院感染防控落实等方面,旨在为口腔专科在疫情发生期快速应对新型冠状病毒感染防控的应急管理提供参考。     

Nonresponse bias in a national study of dentists' infection control practices and attitudes related to HIV

Abstract The aim was to investigate late response and nonresponse bias in a survey related to HIV and infection control. Questionnaires with ID numbers were mailed to a stratified random sample of dentists in Canada with additional mailings 4 and 7 weeks later (n=6444). We compared responses received after <4 weeks, 4–7 weeks, >7 weeks. Extrapolation was used to estimate nonresponse bias. Univariate analyses showed significant differences between responses received <4 weeks after initial mailing and those received later for items on sociodemographics, knowledge, infection control practices and attitudes: late responders were more likely to report that they would refuse to treat any patients with HIV (P<0.01). Multiple logistic regression indicated that the best predictors of responses received ≥4 weeks were disagreement that HBV is more infectious than HIV (OR=1.7); unwillingness to attend a dentist who treats HIV/AIDS patients (OR=1.3); incorrect perception of the risk of HIV infection after an HIV-contaminated needlestick injury (OR =1.2): and sometimes or never heat-sterilizing handpieces after each patient (OR=1.2). Extrapolation indicated that the percentage of all respondents who reported refusal to treat (15.2%) would have been 17.1% if a 100% response rate had been obtained. We found significant evidence of late response and nonresponse bias primarily in knowledge and fears related to HIV infectivity; however, the impact on the final results was small and we concluded that additional follow-up to improve response rates would not be worthwhile.     

The role of age- and population- based differences in the attitudes, knowledge and infection control practices of Canadian dentists

OBJECTIVES: To investigate age- and population-based differences in dentists' infection control practices and willingness and refusal to treat patients with HIV. METHODS: A national mailed survey of a stratified random sample of dentists in Canada (n = 6444) with three follow-up attempts. Pearson's chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used for data analysis. Predictor variables included population, age, gender, marital status, specialty, number of patients treated per day and continuing education on HIV/AIDS. RESULTS: The adjusted response rate was 66.4%. The best predictors of willingness to treat patients with HIV were younger age (compared with dentists > or = 60 years of age: < 30 years, OR = 8.6, 30-39, OR = 3.4; 40-49, OR = 2.7; 50-59, OR = 1.6), attending continuing education on HIV/AIDS in the past 2 years (> 10 hours, OR = 1.6 compared with zero hours), practicing in small population centres < 10,000 (OR = 1.6 compared with > 500,000) and gender (male OR = 1.3). The best predictors of refusal to treat patients with HIV were older age (compared with dentists < 30 years of age: > or = 60, OR = 6.1; 50-59, OR = 4.1; 40-49, OR = 3.0; 30-39, OR = 2.6); and practicing in population centres > 500,000 (OR = 1.5 compared with < 10,000). However, the latter group also reported treating more HIV patients than respondents in smaller communities. Infection control practices varied significantly with age and population centre. Dentists in communities of < 10,000 were more compliant with HBV vaccination, but less compliant with handwashing after degloving and the use of infection control manuals. Similarly, dentists > 60 years of age were the least compliant with HBV immunization, routine use of barriers and sterilization of handpieces, but reported the highest compliance with handwashing. CONCLUSIONS: Age- and population-based differences need to be considered in planning educational interventions to improve both access to care for patients with HIV and dentists' compliance with recommended infection control procedures.     

Infection control attitudes and perceptions among dental students in Latin America: implications for dental education

Latin American dental schools are at diverse stages in the continuum of implementation of infection control (IC) programmes that comply with evidence-based recommendations. Poor IC training may result in low compliance and negative attitudes against patients infected with blood borne pathogens (BBP). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate students' knowledge on IC and attitudes toward occupational BBP risks, in six dental schools in Latin America. METHODS: This survey was administered to convenience samples of dental students at one school in Costa Rica; four schools in Mexico, and one in Venezuela. The questionnaire included Likert-type scale evaluations of agreement with statements. Study variables included knowledge about and confidence in recommended IC procedures, degree of concern about HIV and HBV transmission in dental settings, and attitudes toward patients infected with BBP. Possible associations between variables were analysed using Pearson's Chi square and Kruskal Wallis tests. RESULTS: Substantial numbers of students had incomplete knowledge and often lacked confidence on IC and procedures; believed that HIV and HBV could be transmitted during clinical procedures; felt worried about occupational exposure to BBP, and held prejudices towards HIV and HBV infected individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Educational efforts are needed to enhance IC teaching and compliance. Diverse educational resources and international networks for research collaboration are available from organisations specialised in IC, hopefully paving the way to harmonising regional standards.     

新型冠状病毒肺炎防控时期口腔颌面外科病房诊疗模式的构建与运行

自新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情爆发以来,中山大学附属口腔医院口腔颌面外科病房从未间断诊疗及护理相关工作。疫情期间,口腔颌面外科医护人员认真学习并严格遵守国家及地区颁布的新型冠状病毒（2019-nCoV）感染疫情防控相关法律法规文件,制定符合疫情防控要求的口腔颌面外科病房诊疗工作模式,有效地开展口腔颌面外科疾病临床治疗及护理工作,从而为口腔颌面部创伤、恶性肿瘤等急危重症患者争取了手术治疗时机。