RESUMO
The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of dentists and nurses toward cross-infection control measures in dental clinics at Assiut City. All dentists and nurses working in the 28 clinics were included in the study. They included 52 dentists, and 51 nurses working in dentist clinic. Data collection tools was Structured self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. The first part was concerned with socio-demographic and job information. The second part was for assessment of subjects' knowledge about cross-infection control measures in dental clinics. The third part included subjects' exposure to occupational hazards in the last year. An observation checklist to assess actual practices of subjects in their workplaces, data was collected in the period from the first of June 2006 until the end of November 2006. The study has shown that slightly less than half of the dentists were less than 30 years old [48.1%], slightly less than half of the nurses were 40 years old or more [49.0%]. About two thirds of the dentists [65.4%] were males, while the majority of the nurses [92.2%] were females. Similarly, less than two thirds of the dentists [59.6%] were married, compared to 92.2% of the nurses. As regards work experience, the mean years of experience of the dentists were slightly higher than those of the nurses, 9.3 +/- 7.7 years and 7.4 +/- 4.4 years. Less than half of the dentists [44.2%] and the nurses [45.1%] had attended conferences or educational training courses about infection control during last year. Most of dentists [82.7%] and nurses [72.5%] had satisfactory knowledge. Conversely, the majority of dentists and nurses had poor practice [84.6% and 86.3%] respectively. The study revealed no statistically significant differences were revealed between dentists and nurses in either knowledge or practice It is concluded that although dentists and nurses in dental clinics in Assiut city possess good knowledge about cross-infection and their control measures in these settings, their practice was mostly inadequate. It is recommended that continuing education to dental health care workers be mandatory and include a specific practical component on cross-infection control in dental practices. Enforcement of strict cross-infection control measures practices must be implemented, with provision of needed supplies and equipment. Additionally, every dental clinic must have a written infection control policy, and an active infection control team