Percutaneous Injuries in Practicing U.S. Dentists, 1992-2006

Percutaneous injuries (PI) from sharps contaminated with patient material are significant sources of occupational infectious agent transmission.  PI are preventable by following established CDC recommended practices for handling sharps and by using engineered sharps designed to avoid injury.  Objective:  Practicing U.S. dentists were surveyed for frequency of PI to assess the impact of procedures and devices recommended since 1992 for the prevention of sharps injuries during dental treatment.  Methods:  From 1992 through 2006 16,284 U.S. dentists volunteered to participate in the ADA Health Screening Program (HSP), convened annually in different cities throughout the U.S.  Dentists completed a self-administered questionnaire covering personal health and demographic characteristics, as well as infection control practices.  Each dentist was asked to recall the number of PI sustained within the previous 30 days.  Dentists were divided into three groups:  those without PI, with PI and combined.  Responses were annualized.  Results:  Reported PI from all respondents during 1992 - 2006 trended slightly lower (slope = -0.053) averaging 2.57 ± 0.59 s.d. PI per year.  However, dentists reporting no PI increased from 84.2% in 1992 to 91.3% in 2006 (slope = 0.321) averaging 87.8% ± 2.0 s.d.  The group of dentists reporting PI trended higher (slope = 0.168) with a mean of 21.4 ± 4.6 s.d. PI per year (N = 2,065).  Limited data could not identify predominant sources of the PI.  Conclusion:  Recommendations of practices for avoiding sharps injuries and the availability of devices designed to prevent PI have had a positive impact on reducing the overall number of sharps injuries.  However, most PI seem to occur mainly in about 10% of practicing dentists.  Greater utilization of safety needles, continued safety improvements in sharps technology, as well as increased awareness of PI dangers should help reduce sharps injuries in this group.