Introduction: To every activity there are hygiene requirements prescribed, which employees must be aware of and consider during their work. In the field of healthcare, there are Standard Safety Measures; these are the minimum infection prevention practices that apply to the entirety of patient care, regardless of the presumed or confirmed status of the patient’s infection, in any environment where healthcare is provided. These practices are designed both to protect healthcare professionals and prevent the spread of any employee infections to patients. Purpose: With this diploma dissertation we want to examine the implementation of existing guidelines in hygienic work and hygienic approaches in dentistry. We adapted them to the profession of a laboratory dental prosthetics technician in order to outline their practical applicability. Through a short online survey, our aim was to find which rules and practices of hygienic work are implemented in dental laboratories and the incidence of these. Methods: The dissertation was prepared using the descriptive method. Information for the theoretical part was collected by reviewing the literature available in the Faculty of Health library, the Ljubljana City Library, in the Google Scholar and PubMed professional databases, and in certain online resources. In particular, the search included articles in professional scientific journals, published mainly in the years 2009–2019. The causal non-experimental work method was also used. We conducted an online survey on hygienic work in dental laboratories in the pre-epidemic period. Out of 169 dental laboratories, 44 responded to the online survey activated for two months, and of these, 30 suitable units were obtained. In the practical part, a 2-part fixed prosthetic replacement was made, where the supporting structure was made of Cr-Co alloy and facets of composite material. Results: A plan needs to be devised for effective hygienic work in dental laboratories. Existing guidelines should be adapted to the work of the dental laboratory and should thus cover the work stages where one comes into contact with contaminated objects, as well as work stages for which we do not know whether they pose the risk of infection. The basis of hygienic work is effective hand hygiene, which includes clipping the fingernails short, washing hands with soap and water, disinfecting hands with an antiseptic and wearing gloves. It is also necessary to clean and disinfect work surfaces and tables during the prosthetic replacement work stages. Half of the surveyed dental laboratories wipe work surfaces several times a day, regardless of the work process. Only a third use a disinfectant to wipe the surfaces. Over a half of the surveyed dental laboratories use appropriate protective equipment when using abrasive tools – a protective mask and goggles. During our work, we used a glass barrier instead. The recommended speeds of drills and polishing elements were mostly followed during the work process. After the COVID-19 outbreak, most of the surveyed dental laboratories tightened hand washing and disinfection measures, while only about half reported wearing a protective mask. Discussion and conclusion: Comparing the results of our own work and the survey research with theoretical starting points, we found that the practices of hygienic work do not uniformly comply with the rules. Based on the different answers of the respondents, we conclude that not all dental laboratories have devised their own plan of hygienic work, which would be based on common guidelines. The issue may be in insufficient training, deficient work plans, and the negligence of workers and the financial situation of the dental laboratory may also have an impact. We propose that a handbook be prepared, which would describe the stages of the production of all prosthetic replacements, with the assigned hygienic work stages. The implementation of hygienic work stages in the production of prosthetic replacements contributes to better dental care and safety both of patients and all employees, while not representing excessive time burdens.
|
