Dentists caught dirty-handed

A startling new survey has shown US dentists are failing on hand hygiene standards.

A poll of New York practitioners revealed basic recommendations, including washing hands between patients and using alcohol sanitisers with each glove change, are being ignored.

Researchers sent 352 questionnaires to members of the New York State Dental Association.

The survey, which distinguished between washing with soap and water and using hand sanitisers, tackled basic hand hygiene rules as laid out by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 234 responses, 71% said they washed their hands at the start of the day, 1% start with disinfecting and another 22% do both; leaving 6% who do neither.

But 19% admitted that they neither wash nor disinfect their hands between patients.

Shockingly, 20% apparently didn't wear gloves at all.

The results were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

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