Knowledge of the protocol to be followed in the event of an accident with a sharp object during the clinical practice of undergraduate students in the subject Integrated Adult Clinical and Surgery III, School of Dentistry, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2024
Celeste Moreno Dommar, María Isabel Brusca
Abstract
Sharp accidents frequently occur during the practice of dentistry, due to the use of sharp and pointed elements. This usually happens to dentists and especially to students, due to conditions attributable to the practice itself, such as: stress, movement of the patient, reduced space, among others. Through an accident with sharps it is possible to generate inoculation of pathogenic agents when exposed to contaminated biological substances, the main pathogenic agents identified in various studies are: HIV, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, among others. Biosafety protocols have been established to make dental practice safe for the operator and the patient, with the aim of minimising the possibility of cross-contamination. However, in the event of an incident involving sharp material, it is vitally important that the professional or student is well informed about the prophylaxis protocol to be followed in order to reduce the possibility of infection. This descriptive, cross-sectional research aims to investigate the knowledge of the students of the adult III clinics of the School of Dentistry of the Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2024, regarding this important aspect of biosafety. For this purpose, a survey will be applied to verify the knowledge of preventive biosafety measures, knowledge of pathogenic agents and knowledge of the protocol for post-accident prophylaxis with sharp sharps.