Dental News - Unsterilized bib chains may cause crosscontamination

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 22 July 2011

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., USA: Patients may be exposed to dangerous pathogens when an unsterilized bib chain is placed around their neck during dental treatment, new research has found. These bacteria include pseudomonas, E. coli and S. aureus—the most common cause of staph infections and a potential “superbug.”

Noel Kelsch, researcher and author on national infection control, registered dental hygienist and former President of the California Dental Hygienists’ Association, conducted a study on various types of dental chains and clips after seeing debris falling from a chain she had planned to use to protect her uniform at lunch. The results of the study were published in RDH Magazine, a trade publication for dental hygienists.

Crosscontamination, the transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another, can occur when a bib chain ‘grabs’ onto hair or accumulates patients’ sweat, make-up and discharge from neck acne, not to mention the oral materials that spray out of the mouth. During a dental cleaning, saliva, plaque and even blood can come in contact with the bib and chain. These types of contaminants can find their way into the human system if the patient or one of the dental workers has contact with them. For example, if the patient touches her neck after a dental visit and then rubs an eye, she may have just crosscontaminated.

“Studies have shown the more cracks, crevices and indentations on a bib chain, the higher the bacterial count. The problem with this when we use the same bib chain with patient, after patient, after patient, the accumulation creates a risk for crosscontamination,” Kelsch said.

One study the dental hygienist conducted involved taking samples of bacteria found in a bathroom at a major US airport and comparing this to the bacteria found on a used bib clip. “By looking at a bathroom floor at a busy airport, and looking at this bib chain, we got about the same level of bacteria in both of them. This is a risk that everyone needs to be aware of,” Kelsch explained.

However, she found that disposable clips and holders opened for each patient were free from contaminants and posed no crosscontamination threat. Kelsch encourages patients to insist that their dentist use a disposable bib holder, instead of a bib clip. According to her, in addition to providing patients with a safer dental visit, disposable dental bib holders are critical tools in the fight against creating more “superbugs.”

Kelsch’s findings echoed those of a study conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Dentistry Oral Microbiology Lab, which found that bib chains and clips are potential sources of contamination. In sampling 50 bib clips from various hygiene and dental operations, researchers discovered that one in five bib clips were contaminated with “significant microorganisms,” according to an article in the Dental Health Magazine.

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