Practitioners in the dental field carry an occupational risk of injuries when performing routine procedures and hence the possible contraction of serious infections. Dental college students are considered at a higher risk because they start performing such procedures with no or very little experience. Although needlestick injuries (NSIs) are preventable, they are still a common happening and the main concern is the risk of transfer of more than 20 pathogens. The most serious are hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence and patterns of NSIs sustained by undergraduate dental students in Oral Surgery Clinics at College of Dentistry (Jazan University), Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This was a retrospective epidemiological investigation conducted among 230 undergraduate dental students studying at College of Dentistry (Jazan). Fourth, fifth, and sixth year undergraduate dental students and interns working in the Department of Oral Surgery were included. Those who were not willing to participate were excluded from the study. An anonymous questionnaire proforma was prepared including closed- and open-ended questions divided into two parts. Data were entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 17.0) statistical software for analysis.

More than half of the sample size (54.8%) had suffered sharp instruments injury in different anatomical sites, and of these, 67.4% were pricked with gloves on. Only 27% of the students reported to the faculty after being pricked. Most of the participants (55.3%) had a single incidence of injury during the past 1 year and 16.2% were stuck for several times. Fingers (60.7%) were the most commonly affected anatomical site pricked by sharp instruments, followed by the thumb (22.2%), hand (9.6%), and palm (7.4%).

Infection control teaching and training should be an integral part of the curriculum of all disciplines in health care including medical, dental, and paramedics.

Ali FM, Al-Iryani GM, Mdabesh HY, Essa AA, Nammazi AM, Kariri MA, Somaili DMY. Incidence of Needlestick Injuries in Oral Surgery Clinic among Dental Students: A Retrospective Study. World J Dent 2018;9(1):29-33.