Dental Infection Control and Occupational Safety in the Russian Federation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background In the recent past, the Russian Federation has seen a considerable increase in HIV caseload. A high level committee was formed to assess the status of dental infection control and safety (IC&S) in Russia. This article is one of the outcomes to assess the status of IC&S and is the research of a doctoral student (PhD) in public health. Purpose To assess needs in Dental Infection Control and Occupational Safety in the Moscow Metropolitan Region of the Russian Federation. Materials and methods A survey with variables assessing knowledge, attitude and practice of IC&S was administered to dentists practicing and or teaching in Moscow city and suburban areas on a convenience sample of dental practitioners. Results The total number of completed questionnaires were 303. Over 67% had up to three significant exposures to blood and potentially infectious materials (OPIM), but less than 30% got tested for HIV in the previous 3 months. Use of personal protective equipment was not based on anticipated exposure. Less than 10% had an understanding of Spaulding's classification with respect to sanitization, disinfection and sterilization. Only about 34% stated that there was a potential for infectious disease transmission through a percutaneous route and about 61% double gloved while treating patients with infectious diseases. Only about 61% disinfected impressions and most (83%) used alcohol for disinfection purposes. While 34% still used glass-bead sterilizers, about 13% did not sterilize handpieces between patients. Conclusion Results from this study indicated a disparity in the practice of infection control and safety procedures requiring formulation of nationwide dental safety standards. Further, there is a need in implementation of a standardized dental safety curriculum for dental schools and continuing dental education requirements in dental safety for practicing dentists in the Russian Federation. How to cite this article Budnyak MA, Gurevich KG, Fabrikant K, Miller K, Puttaiah R. Dental Infection Control and Occupational Safety in the Russian Federation. J Contemp Dent Pract 2012;13(5):703-712.