Study on the Hygienic Conditions of Dentist Offices in the Province of Siena in the years 1992 -1993

Several infectious diseases, among which viral hepatitis and HIV infection are particularly important, can be transmitted in a dentistry setting. For this reason, dentists and their assistants must adopt very strict prophylaxis measures in order to guarantee the highest level of hygiene. An inquiry was organized in the province of Siena on dentist offices in order to evaluate the quality and the correctness of disinfection and sterilization methods, and to verify possible contamination of working surfaces. Professionals accepting the inquiry were asked to collaborate by filling a questionnaire and by letting our operators take microbiological samples on some working surfaces. The results obtained by elaborating the answers to the questionnaire and by evaluating the collected samples show that the hygienic standards of the offices we considered are, on the whole, acceptable.