Dental equipment

There is considerable disagreement amongst dental experts over the risk posed by the inadequate sterilisation of dental equipment. A 1992 study showed that potentially infectious quantities of HIV may be present in water lines and other dental equipment not normally sterilised between each patient.¹

Critics of the study point out that concentrations of HIV far in excess of those likely to be present in blood were used in combination with inadequate disinfectants, combining to give a misleading picture of the likelihood of infection because of inadequate cleaning of instruments. They also note that the failure to practise universal precautions, especially in regard to compliance with safety procedures for needle and glove use, continue to constitute a far greater area of risk than already adopted sterilisation procedures.