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Chemicals in Dentistry

PROTECTING HANDS FROM DENTAL CHEMICALS

Dental professionals are exposed to dozens of different chemicals each day when disinfecting surfaces, sterilizing equipment, making dentures or performing other tasks. It’s important that they wear protective gloves that have been proven to resist the chemicals they are handling.


A GLOVE CAN FAIL TO PROTECT THE WEARER AGAINST CHEMICALS IN THREE WAYS:

Permeation model

PERMEATION

The process by which a chemical agent migrates through the protective glove at a molecular level.

Penetration model

PENETRATION

The bulk flow of a chemical agent through closures, porous materials, seams and pinholes or other imperfections in the protective glove.

Degradation model

DEGRADATION

A damaging change in one or more physical properties of the protective glove as a result of exposure to a chemical agent.

CHEMICAL PERMEATION IN DENTISTRY

Repeated exposure to chemicals over time eventually leads to irritant contact dermatitis or allergic contact dermatitis. This means that dental professionals should carefully choose their gloves in part based on the chemicals they may be exposed to during their work.

Learn More


To ensure they and their staff have adequate hand protection, dental professionals should ask about the Chemical Permeation Breakthrough Test Times (BTT) of the gloves they purchase. Glove manufacturers should be able to provide information on how well gloves resist the active chemicals in the various sterilant, disinfectants, impression materials and other substances a practice works with.

The Ansell Dental Chemical Splash Resistance Guide recommends the best Ansell exam gloves to use when dental professionals are in need of protection against many chemicals commonly found in dental products.

The Chemical Splash Ratings were created based on how these chemicals are most often used by dental professionals – who are not exposed to chemicals for long periods of time in a continuous manner or for splash protection.



diagram on how chemical permeation works


RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT FACTORS:

  1. Risk Rating of the chemical as per the Safety Data Sheets
  2. Breakthrough time as per EN ISO 374-1
  3. Volatility Rating of the chemical/product

DOWNLOAD SPLASH GUIDE


Dental Products Tested