Infection Control in Dentistry and Drug-Resistant Infectious Agents: A Burning Issue. Part 2

Abstract

We showed that antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections inside of dental settings are relevant. Here, we have focused on the limited awareness on infection prevention guidelines, and the lapses and errors during infection prevention, which sustain the evidence of possible reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans (dental staff and patients) and on dental items or in the environment. We chose Staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae as markers since they are considered as prioritized bacteria according to antibiotic resistance pressure, and the data are available on their virulence factors and for dental settings. For better dental patient and healthcare personnel safety, we need to improve knowledge on bioburden and biofouling, based also on molecular biological methods, and education and training initiatives to limit the hazards in surgical dental settings and to sustain accreditation survey.

Innovation by Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing Technology: A Look at Infection Prevention in Dental Settings

“…On clinical contact surfaces, the MRSA contamination was higher in samples from dental surgery (4.3%) and prosthetic dentistry (3.9%) compared to prosthodontic procedures (1%) that are mostly none invasive [55]. Nevertheless, it is hazardous that the majority of MRSA and Staphylococcus aureus isolates, recovered from environmental surfaces, were biofilm producers [14, 22, 55]. The contamination of MRSA is high in conventional impression and gypsum casts: it has been found in 15.4% and 27% of them, respectively [48, 56].…”

“…We would like to note some underestimated hazards during traditional prosthetic, prosthodontic, and orthodontic practices as follows:Concerning the procedure using an addition silicone as impression material, the contamination by the hand microbial flora (including MRSA) [14, 22] is expected during the mixing of the base and its catalyst with ungloved hands. Recently, this problem can be avoided using powder free latex gloves or impression material automatic mixers.It is a frequent error to touch a cast or contaminated try-in items with gloved contaminated hands [4].…”

“…Recently, this problem can be avoided using powder free latex gloves or impression material automatic mixers.It is a frequent error to touch a cast or contaminated try-in items with gloved contaminated hands [4]. Therefore, it is not a surprise that casts are frequently contaminated mainly by bacteria and MRSA and could be a source of infection [4, 22, 56]. We would like to note that contaminated casts come and go between the dental office and DL and/or are utilized for long periods during DISRs and orthodontic cares; then, they are a hidden source of contamination (Figure 1).…”

“…Concerning the procedure using an addition silicone as impression material, the contamination by the hand microbial flora (including MRSA) [14, 22] is expected during the mixing of the base and its catalyst with ungloved hands. Recently, this problem can be avoided using powder free latex gloves or impression material automatic mixers.…”

Infection Control in Dentistry and Drug-Resistant Infectious Agents: A Burning Issue. Part 1

“…surgical cares increased 100%, and the related healthcare cost skyrockets [175]. The reported data show that opportunistic species and/or ARIA infections are nearby and expected to increase in dental setting [21-26, 29, 81, 82, 85, 91-99, 101-105, 109-114, 120-124, 136-141, 145-149, 153-155, 159, 160, 165] due to the overuse of antibiotics in dentistry and the limited awareness on infection prevention guidelines and the lapses and errors during infection prevention [176]. Moreover, it is considered alarming the genetic connection or similarity between MRSAs isolated in dental clinics and on dentures and the EMRSA-15 or EMRSA-16 clone [97,102,119].…”