Barrier properties critical in selecting medical gloves, Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council says

When caring for their patients, dental and health-care professionals are constantly exposed to bodily fluids that may carry viruses and other infectious agents. It is therefore critical that the gloves they use provide them with the best possible barrier protection.

Many types of gloves are available today, but it is important to know that not all gloves have the same barrier capability, depending on the type of material used. For example, natural-rubber latex gloves have long been acknowledged for their effective barrier properties, while numerous studies have shown non-latex gloves, such as vinyl (PVC), to be inferior in barrier capability. Other synthetic gloves, such as nitrile and polyisoprene, perform much better than vinyl, but are more costly, especially polyisoprene gloves. Using gloves with inferior barrier capability could expose both patients and users to undesirable/harmful infections.

Malaysia is the world’s largest medical gloves exporter (latex and nitrile). Both quality and user safety are of top priority to the nation’s glove industry. To this end, a quality certification program (the Standard Malaysian Gloves or the SMG) has been formulated for latex examination gloves.

All SMG-certified gloves must comply with stringent technical specifications to ensure the gloves are high in barrier effectiveness and low in protein/low-allergy risks. Additional criteria are excellent comfort, fit and durability — qualities that manufacturers of many synthetic gloves are attempting to replicate. Furthermore, latex gloves are green products, derived from a natural and sustainable resource, making them environment-friendly.

For more information, please visit www.smg-online.biz and www.latex glove.info.

The use of low-protein, powder-free gloves has been demonstrated by many independent hospital studies to vastly reduce the incidence of latex sensitization and allergic reactions in workplaces. More importantly, latex-allergic individuals donning non-latex gloves can now work alongside coworkers who are wearing the improved low-protein latex gloves — without any heightened allergy concern. However, for latex-allergic individuals, it is important that they use appropriate non-latex gloves that provide effective barrier protection, such as quality nitrile and polyisoprene gloves.

Selecting the right gloves should be an educated consideration to enhance safety of both patients and users. For decades, gloves made in Malaysia have been synonymous with quality and excellence; and they are widely available in an extensive array of brands, features and prices. They can be sourced either factory-direct (www.mrepc.com/trade, manufacturers’ directory) or from established U.S. dental product distributors.