-
-
Contaminated dental
instruments.
Smith A,
Dickson M,
Aitken J,
Bagg J.
Infection Research Group, Glasgow Dental Hospital &
School, 378 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, UK.
a.smith@dental.gla.ac.uk
There is current concern in the UK over the possible
transmission of prions via contaminated surgical
instruments. Some dental instruments (endodontic files)
raise particular concerns by virtue of their intimate
contact with terminal branches of the trigeminal nerve.
A visual assessment using a dissecting light microscope
and scanning electron microscopy of endodontic files
after clinical use and subsequent decontamination was
performed. The instruments examined were collected from
general dental practices and from a dental hospital.
Seventy-six per cent (22/29) of the files retrieved from
general dental practices remained visibly contaminated,
compared with 14% (5/37) from the dental hospital.
Current methods for decontaminating endodontic
instruments used in dentistry may be of an insufficient
standard to completely remove biological material.
Improved cleaning methods and the feasibility of single
use endodontic instruments require further
investigation.
PMID: 12144804 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12144804&dopt=Abstract
|