Infection Control Measures Among Senior Dental Students in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Abstract

These results address the need for an improved quality assurance, in order for the students and faculty to improve their practices and attitudes on infection control measures.

Attitudes and behavior of dental students concerning infection control rules: a study with a10-year interval

“…In a study carried out in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the proportion of vaccinated students was similar to that found in the present study (12). However, most students do not have knowledge regarding the test to determine seroconversion for HBV, despite the educational programs and specific material published for the dental community (12,16). Biological risk is a concern for oral health professionals, as they run a 3-to-6-fold greater risk of infection than the general population (16).…”

“…Even in dental schools, future dentists have not properly adhered to these procedures (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). Studies have demonstrated that knowledge on infection control is higher than that employed in dental practice (2,9,10).…”

Strategy to control occupational risk for Hepatitis B: impact on the vaccination and seroconversion rates in dentistry students

“…In the present study, the validity of the data collected by inspecting the vaccination cards and laboratory exam reports allowed adhesion to the vaccination measures to be known, without the possibility of response and memory biases resulting from the use of self-applicable questionnaires, because this was a documentary research. In the majority of studies in the literature, the data result from self-applicable questionnaires that depend on the participant's memory 1,5,[14][15][18][19][20] . In practice, it was only possible to carry out this inspection due to the dental school's demand that students had to hand in a copy of their vaccination card and anti-HBs exam result to the undergraduate course secretariat, so that these could be evaluated, and later attached to the documents of each student.…”

“…Dental Schools are responsible for the quality of teaching and multiplication of infection control behaviors, adequate training of students with a view to protecting the patient and establishing safe working conditions [14][15] . Therefore, biosafety recommendations are frequently updated and published 12,[16][17] .…”

Knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control among the dental students

“…Dental colleges are responsible for providing knowledge about the cross infection and the control measures to be taken to protect the patients 8 . The updated guidelines on infection control techniques were given by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America in 2003 9 .…”