IADR Abstract Archives
Dental Waste Management and Dental Professionals' Awareness of Associated Risks
Objectives: To determine the knowledge and attitude of dental professionals to dental-waste management and its attendant risks.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in three public dental facilities in Enugu, Nigeria between July to September, 2014. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was given to respondents consisting of dentists, dental surgery assistants, dental therapists, dental nurses, dental technologists, and final year clinical dental students.A simple descriptive and t-test analysis was done with statistical package for social sciences(SPSS) version 20.
Results: There were 102 respondents with more dentists (n=30) than other disciplines. Different types of hazardous dental wastes were generated by respondents ranging from saliva or blood-soaked gauze to sharps (needles and blades). 55.9% and 60.8% of respondents had been trained on dental and hospital waste management respectively. Dental technologists (22.8%) and Dentists (26.3) received more training than other disciplines. 92.2% of the respondents knew used dental needles were hazardous. 86.3% knew how to dispose a used dental needle correctly. 49% prefer using pre-capsulated amalgam and amalgam separators to reduce possible health and environmental hazards. Respondents felt improper waste management was a health hazard (99%), increased risk of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS transmission(96.1%) and destroyed aquatic life (63.7%).
Conclusions: There is an average knowledge of dental wastes and the risks associated with improper management. The oral healthcare workers handle and manage used sharps (needles) better than they manage amalgam. Update courses on dental waste management should be planned so that practitioners are reminded of the right processes in dental waste management.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in three public dental facilities in Enugu, Nigeria between July to September, 2014. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was given to respondents consisting of dentists, dental surgery assistants, dental therapists, dental nurses, dental technologists, and final year clinical dental students.A simple descriptive and t-test analysis was done with statistical package for social sciences(SPSS) version 20.
Results: There were 102 respondents with more dentists (n=30) than other disciplines. Different types of hazardous dental wastes were generated by respondents ranging from saliva or blood-soaked gauze to sharps (needles and blades). 55.9% and 60.8% of respondents had been trained on dental and hospital waste management respectively. Dental technologists (22.8%) and Dentists (26.3) received more training than other disciplines. 92.2% of the respondents knew used dental needles were hazardous. 86.3% knew how to dispose a used dental needle correctly. 49% prefer using pre-capsulated amalgam and amalgam separators to reduce possible health and environmental hazards. Respondents felt improper waste management was a health hazard (99%), increased risk of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS transmission(96.1%) and destroyed aquatic life (63.7%).
Conclusions: There is an average knowledge of dental wastes and the risks associated with improper management. The oral healthcare workers handle and manage used sharps (needles) better than they manage amalgam. Update courses on dental waste management should be planned so that practitioners are reminded of the right processes in dental waste management.