Cross infection control measures and the treatment of patients at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in UK general dental practice

Aims To determine the suitability of key infection control measures current ly employed in UK dental practice for delivery of dental care to patients a t risk of prion diseases. Materials and methods Subjects. Five hundred dental surgeons currently regi stered with the General Dental Council of the UK. Data collection: Structur ed postal questionnaire. Analysis: Frequencies, cross-tabulations and chi-s quared analysis. Results The valid response rate to the questionnaire was 69%. 33% of practi ces had no policy on general disinfection and sterilisation procedures. Onl y 10 of the 327 responding practices (3%) possessed a vacuum autoclave. 49% of dentists reported using the BDA medical history form but less than 25% asked the specific questions recommended by the BDA to identify patients at risk of iatrogenic or familial CJD. However, 63% of practitioners would re fer such patients, if identified, to a secondary care facility. Of the 107 practitioners who were prepared to provide dental treatment, 75 (70%) would do so using routine infection control procedures. Conclusions Most of the dental practices surveyed were not actively seeking to identify patients at risk of prion diseases. In many cases, recommended procedures for providing safe dental care for such patients were not in pl ace.