Approaches Used by Dentists and Prosthetic Technicians for Disinfecting Dental Impressions

Objective: to evaluate the communication and analyze dentists' and dental technicians' attitudes, knowledge and training regarding the disinfection of dental impressions. Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate behavior and opinions about the disinfection of dental impressions, a questionnaire was completed by 65 dentists and 10 dental prosthesis laboratories from Cairo-Egypt. Results: All responders (100%) utilized alginate as their impression material, and it is the most common impression material used in prosthodontics. Although 80% of dental prosthesis labs do not receive any notice regarding this, 60.3% of dentists assert that they always disinfect impression materials provided to the lab. Alcohols are typically used as a spray for chemical disinfection, and efficacy is the primary determinant factor for the choice of the disinfecting material. The majority of dentists who responded to the poll (65.6%) said they don't let the lab know if the impression material has been disinfected. 80% of dental prosthesis labs acknowledge that they have doubts about the disinfection that dentists perform. Conclusions: More efforts are needed regarding the infection control procedures and communication between labs and clinics. The findings fall short of expectations and even go against worldwide literature about the level of trust and communication between the dental technicians and dentists.