Dental patients' attitudes towards infection control.

The level of the patients' education for health is increasing as their concern for protection during the medical treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of the dental patients towards infection control protocols in the dental office. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire-based study was initiated including 210 patients aged between 16 and 68 years. Data was processed using SPSS 14.0 and analyzed by age, gender and level of education. RESULTS: 82.6% of the patients trust the medical staff to protect them against the spread of infection. Female subjects are twice as interested in the follow up of infection control procedures as males (53.4% respectively 25.2%). The diseases considered by the patients as presenting a high risk of transmission during dental treatment are: hepatitis B, HIV infection, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and hepatitis A. The subjects require the dentist to wear rubber gloves (89.2%), masks (61.5%) and glasses (45.5%). CONCLUSION: The involvement of the dental patients in their own treatment is essential in order to increase the safety and quality of the dental procedures.