Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of infection control implemented at dental offices and factors affecting it in an attempt to help promote the health of dental health care workers. The subjects in this study were 180 medical personnels who worked at dental offices in the region of South Jeolla Province. A self-administered survey was conducted from April 1 to May 30, 2008, and the collected data were analyzed. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. As for the implementation of infection control at the dental offices, what the health care workers investigated did the most was post-treatment hand washing(95.0), a constant separation of infectious wastes(94.4), wearing rubber gloves all the time during medical instrument cleansing(92.8) and pre-treatment hand washing(91.7). 2. In regard to the implementation of infection control at the dental offices, what the dental personnels did the least was drying their hands with air(5.0), wearing goggles in times of treatment(23.3), receiving regular education on infection control(26.7) and putting sterilizers to a performance test on a regular basis(43.9). 3. The dental health care workers were significantly different according to age in the management of contagious diseases(p=0.005). Their career made a significant difference to the management of contagious diseases(p=0.000) and instrument cleansing/sterilization(p=0.043). The service area made a significant difference to wearing and managing personal protective clothes (p=0.040) and waste management(p=0.040). 4. Concerning the relationship between the acquisition of dental hygienist certificate and the practice of infection control, whether the dental health care workers were certified or not made no significant difference to that. 5. As to the correlation among the factors affecting the prevention and management of contagious diseases, there was a positive correlation among hand washing(r=0.379), wearing and managing personal protective clothes(r=0.349), instrument cleansing/sterilization(r=0.323) and waste management(r=0.388). All the factors made a statistically significant difference to the prevention and management of contagious diseases(p<0.01).