RODRIGUES, Vandilson Pinheiro; PEREIRA, Antônio Luiz Amaral    FERREIRA JUNIOR, Antônio José Duarte. Incidence of perforation in sterile latex gloves used by students in periodontic and oral surgery clinical. Odontol. Clín.-Cient. (Online) []. 2013, 12, 4, pp. 255-259. ISSN 1677-3888.

The objective of this comparative study was to determine the incidence and sites of occurrence of perforations on anatomical sterile gloves used by students of dentistry during the Periodontics and Oral Surgery clinical procedures. A total of 220 gloves used by students with the right dominant hand were included in this study. The test of inflation with a dye solution was used to visually evaluate the presence or absence of perforations. We collected data on quantity, hand (right / left) and anatomical region of occurrence of perforations. For statistical analysis we used the Fisher exact test. It was observed that the risk of punctures in gloves used by students in surgical procedures was 1.4 higher when compared to periodontal procedures. The incidence of perforated gloves was 11.8% and 37.3% in periodontics and surgery clinical, respectively (p <0.001). The regions most affected were the thumb and index finger. The results show that the gloves may lose a limb during clinical use and should therefore be given greater emphasis to care when the instruments and materials handling sharps.

: Surgical gloves; Dental students; Hands..