Bacteria in dental clinics

Short communication

English

Masaoud A Elyousfi, Abdoalbast A Ramadan, Nabil Tbeny, Narges Alalwany, and Reem Almagerhy

Department of Laboratories, Faculty of Medical Technology, ElFateh University, Tripoli, Libya

JMJ Vol.4 No. 2 (Autumn) 2005: 137-140

Abstract

Oral health problems often prompt patients to visit dental clinic or dental office since oral cavity disease may have profound emotional and physical effects on a patient. Patients with serious medical problems requiring dental care sometimes need the facilities, and staff support available only in hospitals. Dentists, dental surgeons, and other dental personnel are among the high risk health personnel who may acquire infection from their patients via blood, and saliva or from sharp instruments. Transmission to the dental worker and patients can occur if infection control measures, such as the use of gloves, masks, protective eye wear and hand hygiene practices are not adhered to. The emerge, and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is still a serious problem facing the treatment of infectious diseases. Several duplicate samples were taken from the dental clinics and examined using standard bacteriological procedures. Seven isolates mostly Gram negative aerobic, and facultative anaerobic bacilli were isolated on both media from several samples within dental clinic, and identified, most of which were considered to be clinically significant as a cause of serious nosocomial infections, and most of them with the exception of Acinetobacter genus were resistant to most antibiotics tested. The results demonstrate that the most frequent contaminated samples were aspirator machine, and distilled water storage tank. Since these isolates were highly resistant to most antibiotics tested, hence, alternative antibiotics should be used to overcome such problem. Finally, the dental clinic should be fumigated at regular bases to reduce nosocomial infections.

Keywords: Dental clinic, Dentists, Aspirator machine, Nosocomial infections, Bacteria, Antibiotics

Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=32