ABSTRACT
Background: In an academic setting due to financialconstrain, it is not uncommon during non-surgicalprocedures dental students and clinical supervisorswash their gloved hands with disinfectants in betweenpatients or when touching on non-contaminatedobjects. Whether this practice could cause anydeterioration of the glove and expose clinicians andpatients to infectious micro-organisms was a concern.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectof multiple washes of gloved hands with a disinfectanton the integrity of the gloves. Methods: Three brandsof commonly used gloves in a dental school weretested for leaks after multiple washes with adisinfectant. Thirty pairs of each type of gloves weresubjected to 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 washes with adisinfectant solution at a 5-minute interval betweeneach wash. After each washing cycle, the gloves werefilled with 1L of water and hanged for 2 minutes toobserve any signs of water leaks. Results: The resultsshowed that the type of gloves and number of washeswere significantly associated with the leakage rates(p<0.001). Washing of gloves for more than 5 timeswere at least 6 times higher to suffer from leakage(OR=6.23, 95% CI=2.14–18.08). Powdered gloves werealmost 13 times higher to leak in all washes(OR=12.78, 95% CI= 4.40–37.14) and were almost 25times more likely to leak when washed for more than5 times (OR = 24.92, 95% CI = 5.79 – 107.21) whencompared to the non-powdered gloves. Conclusion:The practice of washing gloved hands with adisinfectant deteriorates the integrity of the gloves.