Abstract

The dental practice is associatedwith a high risk of infections, both for patients and healthcare operators, and the environment may play an important role in the transmission of infectious diseases. A microbiological environmental investigation was carried out in six dental clinics as a pilot study for a larger multicentre study that will be performed by the Italian SItI (Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health) working group "Hygiene in Dentistry". Microbial contamination of water, air and surfaces was assessed in each clinic during the five working days of the week, before and during treatments. Air and surfaceswere also examined at the end of the daily activity. A wide variation was found inmicrobial environmental contamination, both within the participating clinics and relative to the different sampling times. Microbial water contamination in Dental Unit Water Systems (DUWS) reached values of up to 26×104 cfu/mL (colony forming units per millilitre). P. aeruginosa was found in 33% of the sampled DUWS and Legionella spp. in 50%. A significant decrease in the Total Viable Count (TVC) was recorded during the activity. Microbial air contamination showed the highest levels during dental treatments and tended to decrease at the end of the working activity (pb0.05). Microbial buildup on surfaces increased significantly during the working hours. As these findings point out, research on microbial environmental contamination and the related risk factors in dental clinics should be expanded and should also be based on larger collections of data, in order to provide the essential knowledge aimed at targeted preventive interventions.

Autore Pugliese

• Montagna Maria Teresa

Tutti gli autori

• NAPOLI C.;MONTAGNA M.T.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2010

ISSN

0048-9697

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

16

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

22

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile