Lucia Barlean, Ioan Danila, Carina Balcos
Infection control and safety in the dental office represent an essential part of modern dentistry. Aim The study aims to provide comparative evaluation of dentists’ compliance to infection control protocols in Iaºi and Botoºani counties from Moldavia region of Romania. Methods A cross-sectional study was initiated during January and February 2011 including 66 dentists aged between 25 and 65 years. Information was gathered using a 12-item questionnaire containing questions with one or with many possible answers. Data were statistically analysed using the SPSS 14.0 program and compared with chi-square test (p < 0.05). Results The majority of the dentists work in private individual dental offices (51.5% in Iaºi County and 33.3% in Botoºani County). Most of the subjects work 4 to 7 hours a day (72.1% in Iaºi and 45.2% in Botoºani). 33.3% of the dentists from Botoºani and 29.1% from Iaºi declare that they work with a dental assistant. High percentages of dentists (83.3% in Botoºani and 91.6% in Iaºi) consider that the equipment for individual protection should be the same and complete, irrespective of the patient’s medical status or required dental treatment. 95.2% of the dentists in Botoºani and all of the dentists in Iaºi use latex gloves, 92.8% in Botoºani and100% in Iaºi wear protective mask. In most of the dental offices (87.5% in Iaºi, 80.8% in Botoºani) the sterilisation is performed using dry heat – Pupinel. The majority of the subjects (64.2% in Botoºani and 62.5 % in Iaºi) perform hands hygiene when is necessary. The UV lamps are used in 14.2% of the dental offices in Botoºani and 12.5% in Iaºi. For the dental unit water decontamination the dentists use germicide agents in percentage of 16.6% in Iaºi and 24.0% in Botoºani. Conclusion Important efforts are necessary in order to improve availability of safety equipment and promote a safety culture in the dental offices. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the European Project “Ergonomics, prevention and performant management in dental medicine by adopting European standards” Contract: POSDRU/81/3.2/S/55651, 2010- 2013 – Project funded by European Social Fond “Invest in People”