Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University

The purpose of this study was to survey health care for infection prevention of the dental staffs in the dental clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University. Questionnaires were distributed to 164 dental staffs including dental assistants, nurses, and dentists. The questions were asked about their health care behavior regarding to the infection control in dental clinics. Data were collected during February to August, 2008. One hundred and fifty two (92.68%) staffs were responded. The results showed that the annual physical examination that the respondents were mostly performed was blood testing (84.2%), while general physical examination was conducted in only 75% of the respondents. About sixty four percents of the respondents reported injuries from needle stick or sharp instruments and most of the accidents (26.3%) occurred during the instrument cleaning procedures. Exposure to the AIDS patients were highest informed (78.3%), followed by hepatitis B (68.4%) and herpes (57.9%). About 20% of the respondents received hepatitis B vaccination and 15.1% had Tetanus toxoid. Regarding to protective barriers, the respondents mostly used gloves (86.9%) and masks (80.9%), but face shield (32.9%) were lesser used. 30.9% of the respondents usually recapped needle by their hands and that may cause needle stick injury. And when the injuries were happened, only 34.3% of the respondents reported the accidents to their head supervisors. This study concluded that the dental staffs had a high possibility of being infected during their works. The reasons included the chance to contact the high risk patients, activities during works that may cause accidents and inappropriate use of protective barriers. It is recommended that scrupulous practice following guidelines of infection control should be concerned.

1. ทองนารถ คำใจ. การป้องกันและควบคุมการติดเชื้อในการบริการทางทันตกรรม. เอกสารเผยแพร่ภายในหน่วยงาน 2539; คณะทันตแพทยศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

2. Decker MD. OSHA enforcement policy for occupational exlposure to tuberculosis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1993; 14: 689-694.

3. Gerberding JL. Management of occupational exposures to blood-borne virus. New Engl J Med 1995; 332: 444-451.

4. Baldo V, Foreani A, Vecchio LD, et al. Occupational risk of blood-borne viruses in health care worker. A 5 year surveillance program. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2002; 23: 325-327.

5. Natonal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH alert: Preventing needlestick injuries in health care settings. DHHS (NIOSH Publlication No. 200-108. Retrieved November 5, 2003 from http:// www.cdc.gov//spanish/niosh/docs/00- 108sp..html.

6. Twitchell KT. Bloodborne pathogens - Part I. Am Assoc Occup Health Nurse J 2003; 51: 38- 46.

7. จิตราภรณ์ จิตรีเชื้อ, อะเคื้อ อุณหเลขกะ, ชวพรรณ จันทรระสิทธิ์. การดูแลสุขภาพเพื่อป้องกันการติดเชื้อขณะปฏิบัติงานของนักศึกษาพยาบาล. เอกสารเผยแพร่ภายในหน่วยงาน 2544; คณะพยาบาลศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

8. Tahir P. Self-reported needle stick injuries in dental health care worker at the Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mil Med 2000; 165: 208-210.

9. Cleveland JL, Barker LK, et al. Preventing percutaneous injuries among dental health care personnel. J Am Dent Assoc 2007; 138: 169- 178.

Chaungsom K. Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University: Original articles. CM Dent J [Internet]. 2024 Dec 06 [cited 2025 May 03];31(2):97-103. Available from: https://www.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/frontend/web/?r=site/viewarticle&id=369

& Chaungsom, K. (2024). Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University. CM Dent J, 31(2), 97-103. Retrieved from: https://www.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/frontend/web/?r=site/viewarticle&id=369

Chaungsom, K., . 2024. "Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University." CM Dent J, 31(2), 97-103. https://www.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/frontend/web/?r=site/viewarticle&id=369

Chaungsom, K. et al. 2024. 'Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University', CM Dent J, 31(2), 97-103. Retrieved from https://www.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/frontend/web/?r=site/viewarticle&id=369

and Chaungsom, K. "Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University", CM Dent J, vol.31, no. 2, pp. 97-103, Dec. 2024.

Kanokpan Chaungsom "Health Care for Infection Prevention from Dental Practice of Dental Professional Staffs of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University." CM Dent J, vol.31, no. 2, Dec. 2024, pp. 97-103, https://www.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/frontend/web/?r=site/viewarticle&id=369