A Study of Occupational Exposure to Patient's Blood and Saliva among Dental Students of Shahid Sadoughi Yazd University in 2016-2017

Occupational exposure in dentistry is defined as exposing the skin or mucosa to blood, saliva, or infectious discharge of the patient. Dentists are in contact with sharp and high-speed rotary devices that increase the chance of occupational exposure. The purpose of this study was to determine the occupational exposure to blood and saliva of patients in dental students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciencesin 2016-2017.

A descriptive analytical study was conducted on 70 senior dental students at the School of Dentistry of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran. A standard questionnaire was used for collecting the data. After collecting the data, they were coded and entered into the SPSS 20 software and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fisher exact test.

Based on the results, 49 (70%) of 70 students have been suffered from sharp devices. The skin or mucosa of the 62 students (88.6%) infected with saliva or other body fluids of the patients. Only 15.7% of the injuries were reported with sharp objects and 14.3% of mucosal-skin contamination with blood or saliva.

Occupational exposure in dentistry environment is a common problem and many cases, which are related to these subjects were not reported. In order to reduce the risks of this, infection control issues should be taught to dental students. Therefore, occupational exposure management, follow-up centers and guidelines should be established for dental schools.