HIV This Week

Al-Rabeah A, Moamed AG. Infection control in the private dental sector in Riyadh. Ann Saudi Med 2002;22:13-7.

With the global rise in the number of people infected with hepatitis B and C and HIV viruses, cross infection has become of paramount concern to dental health care workers and their patients. Al-Rabeah and Moamed assessed infection control practices in the private dental sector in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of private dental practices in the city of Riyadh after choosing a total sample size of 132 dental units using the proportional allocation method. Three hospitals, 45 clinics and 39 centres were selected randomly. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by dentists working in the selected settings. Of the 206 questionnaires sent, 203 (98.5%) were completed. The mean age of the responding dentists was 36.8+/-6.7 years. A total of 139 dentists (68.5%) were general practitioners and 64 (31.5%) were specialists. A total of 129 (63.5%) stated that they had been vaccinated against hepatitis B virus and 189 (93.1%) stated that they always took a medical history of each patient before treatment. All the studied dentists reported that they always used gloves for every patient during dental treatment, and 90.6% stated that they always wore a face mask during dental treatment. The primary source of infection control information for the studied dentists was from the colleges (78.3%). Only 37.9% of the dentists sterilized their handpieces by autoclaving, while the other 53.7% used disinfectant. About 56% disposed of used needles and sharp instruments in special safety containers. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that working in clinics, age >40 years and knowledge of correct sterilization steps were independent promoting factors for adherence to infection control practice (OR=3.8, CI=1.2-12.1; OR=10.2, CI=1.61-64.8; OR=5.6, CI=1.04-29.9, respectively). The authors conclude that the development of infection control manual for dental practices, in addition to a campaign of health education for dentists in the private sector, is recommended.

Editors’ note: Studies such as this demonstrate the extent to which universal precautions and safety measures can be improved even in well resourced settings. It is surprising that over a third of dentists in Riyadh have not been vaccinated against hepatitis B.