Attitudes and behavior of dental students concerning infection control rules: a study with a10-year interval

Abstract

The study compared the attitudes and behavior of 4th-year dental students regarding infection control rules in 1995 and 2005. Selfadministrated questionnaires were applied to 592 students at 5 different dental schools in 1995 (n=350) and in 2005 (n=242). The chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for statistical analysis of data. Significance level was set at p<0.05. The response rate was 90.3% in 1995 and 81.0% in 2005. There was no improvement in the use of rubber gloves (p=0.316), face masks (p=0.572) or gowns (p=0.862) between 1995 and 2005. There was a lesser frequency of the use of protective eyewear in 2005 (p<0.001). No student used the individual protection equipment correctly. There was a decrease in the sterilization of burs in 2005 when compared to 1995 (p<0.001). No student could describe the correct use of the autoclave. Disinfection and use of a dental chair barrier were done correctly by a minority of students in 1995 (2.8%) and 2005 (6.1%) (p=0.069). Most students correctly discarded perforating/cutting instruments in both years (p=0.749). The attitudes and behavior of dental students concerning infection control are worrisome. There was no improvement and, for some parameters, there was a worsening in the procedures over the time period evaluated.

Musculoskeletal pain and ergonomic aspects of dentistry

“…Other studies associate working hours and excessive number of patients per period as influencing occupational pain 6,21,22,29 . Musculoskeletal injuries are appearing increasingly earlier during dentists professional life, indicating that they leave graduation courses with noxious postural habits 27,30 . So, there is an international consensus that musculoskeletal injuries are causally related to labor activities with the presence of ergonomic stressors, such as: repetitive movements, vigorous efforts, non-neuter postures, vibrations or combinations of such exposures, stressing also that the lack of muscle strengthening and postural education cooperates for the installation of such pains/injuries 21,24 .…”

“…Sedentary life is recognized as an important factor for poor health and early death. So, a physical exercise program may contribute to minimize workload, to better tolerate postural stress and to protect from some manual work hazards in the case of dentists 1,27,[30][31][32] . Daily exposure to aggressions of different origins and characteristics is a factor that, added to sedentary life, may negatively influence QL of people.…”

High and specialty-related musculoskeletal disorders afflict dental professionals even since early training years

“…Cumulative work duration of dental students, who are at the beginning of dental careers, is shorter than dentists. Nevertheless, the same clinical tasks, more uncomfortable postures due to their inexperience, lack of self-protect awareness 1,22 and gradually cumulated exposure to clinical tasks could promote MSDs in the early period of careers. To help prevent MSDs and minimize the negative effect, further studies of the above issue are needed.…”

Radiofrequency Glow Discharge as a Mode of Disinfection for Elastomeric Impression Materials

“…7 Dental impression can give rise to transmission of microorganisms and infections as they are contaminated with blood and saliva during the impression procedures. 8 Disinfection provides a method of preventing the transmission of microorganisms from the patients to persons who handle the impression. Thus impression disinfecting methods have become a necessity.…”