Dental Exposure

Hello, I had a recent experience at a dentists office that i am very concerned about. The office was dirty, and did not seem sanitary. There was no hygienist, and then dentist came out with the patient before me, and then took me right in. How did the tools get cleaned?? I have no idea. He only did a cleaning but I am concerned as to whether or not the handtools/mirror or suction were sterilized at all. The receptionist also told me when i called back to cancel my follow up appt. that she does not go to him and wouldnt go to him but she wouldnt tell me why because she was right outside his office. This really made me nervous. I am not very educated on Hepatitis and its different types. Do I have reason to believe I could have been exposed to any form? I would really appreciate any advice that could be provided. Thanks in advance.

[jdwithhcv]

Lets see if I understand this.  The receptionist would tell you (within earshot of her employer) that she "does not go to him" but she would not tell you why because she was right outside his office.  There's something wrong with your story.

This forum is for questions about Hepatitis C.

[Rockerforlife]

Looks like the dentist is a dirty quack too greedy and cheap too clean his tools and the recepionist knows it but she still works there and needs the money,Ive talked to dental assisitants who quit because of this....believe it or not.

[Rockerforlife]

You said the place was dirty AND YOU HAVE TO ASK?

[rainyday562]

Nothing wrong with the story at all.. the receptionist is absolutely wacky but what am i supposed to think after that? On the phone when i called back i asked "do you go to him?" and she said "no i wouldnt.." i said why? and she said she couldnt tell me why.. I dont really understand all the responses. rockerlife-i agree, she probably just stays because of the money. All I really wanted to know was if any of this would cause concern for hepatitis C if someone could please answer that, my question is about tranmission of hepatitis..

[Rockerforlife]

Put it this way

shootng  and snorting dope,dentists,tattoos,anal sex,fighting and biting,tooth brushes and clippers,nail salons,razors.

TO ME dentists and tattos are up there

[Marcia2202]

Yes, there is a chance to get hepatitis this way, A, B or C. I can't tell you a percentage of likelihood and if you were exposed. But one definitely has to be careful choosing one's dentist.

[Rockerforlife]

My dentist just called me for my cleaning ive been putting off ,ever since i went started TX and became SVR -12...im very wary...i even told her i WIILL NOT get a cleaning unless i see the tools being put in the machine ...i want to see it done from scratch... i will  not catch this again,not in this lifetime

[Rockerforlife]

Cleaning tools cost money,cuts in on the profits.

[LisaRubio]

You get what you pay for. If you're on Medical, you won't get much in the way of emenities.
But don't believe all this **** about snorting dope, dentists, tattoos, anal sex, fighting and biting, tooth brushes and clippers,nail salons and razors.
I believe in being cafeful because there is potential, but the actual cases of catching Hep C from snorting dope can't even be counted in whole numbers.

You get Hep C from shooting dope...sharing needles, tainted blood.

[rainyday562]

OK so just to summarize and make sure i am understanding, i may or may not have been exposed to all types of hepatitis because of potentially dirty equipment, no way to tell unless you get a blood test after 2 months? Last question, does the risk increase when there is use of needles, novacaine, etc? i am just wondering because he did not use any of that on me and i noticed most peoples responses included needles as a possible source.

[nygirl7]

But don't believe all this **** about snorting dope, dentists, tattoos, anal sex, fighting and biting, tooth brushes and clippers,nail salons and razors. "


Well you are definitely wrong because I and other members of this forum sure HAVE gotten the disease this way.  These ARE in fact the things aside from transfusion and IVDU that will get it for you should the situations be correct.  I am a whole number who was infected with two different strains of the disease, so yes it is quite possible. Perhaps it's not realized as often because IVDU is common with snorting but at the time I did not yet ever do that.

HepC is blood to blood contacted and anything that has to do with this........makes it possible.
---------------------

Regarding the dentist - if he put a drill bit in your mouth to clean your teeth and someone in the last 4 days had been in the office with hepc it would be possible to be still alive on the instrument.  Have you not read about dentists who spread this disease it is not at all uncommon.

And sorry for a routine cleaning if the office was dirty and I didn't think he had time to sterilize any instruments - I cannot understand why any civilized intelligent person would continue onwards with this procedure?

[jdwithhcv]

Actually there are lots of people with HCV who have never used IV drug, myself among them.  While I don't doubt that you are sure you got HCV that way, many of us will never know for sure how we contracted this disease.

jd

[Rockerforlife]

It dont have to be from needles,the hygentists tools are very sharp and just cleaning teeth cause gums too bleed,heres a scary thought,ive read that even if the tools are cleaned in the machines,the viruses can sometimes survive on the tools, if the machines are not maintained proberly,NEVER trust anyone when it comes to them playing around with your blood.I want to see my tools scrubbed with a brush and soap and then in the autoclave ...I WILL NOT get thios bug again

[FlGuy]

or Windex.

[IAmTheWalrus]

I think you are partially right in that the overwhelming majority of transmission occurs with tainted blood and shared needles. I guess technically ALL cases are transmitted via tainted blood. I think there is no fear of contradiction in saying that other vectors have and do occur. It is certain that it can be spread from unsterile medical and dental procedures. Much of the rest is the result of theory and conjecture.

While there is certainly a lot of b******t stories, it is too rash a generalization to say that it is all BS.

[GoofyDad]

"...lots of people with HCV who have never used IV drug, myself among them."

This data is of little use by itself. We'll also need to know about the anal sex habits in order to draw meaningful conclusions.

[Trish77]

You first.

[mike716]

I was probably infected with HCV by a dentist. The only other real possibility was a transfusion at the age of 18, 47 years ago (I am now 65), and most of the hep MDs I've talked with agree that the chances of still being pre-cirrhotic (last Fibroscan F3/F4, no varices, no major symptoms) after 47 years of infection are almost nil. Since I am a major user of dental services, and was in four years of periodontal surgery and transplants before being diagnosed HCV+, it looks like the dentistry was the culprit.

Mike

[Rockerforlife]

Id say the 3 main sources are IV drug use,dentists,tattos.

[GoofyDad]

Despite the ex's proclamations that I'm the "perfect a$$hole", I'm definitely a pitcher not a catcher.  I've thrown more balls than strikes, FWIW. Don't try to decode that - I don't know what it means either. :)

For them keeping score at home, no IV drug use here either - and the only blood I received was my own through autologous donation - and that was after the hep anyway. We're either a pack of liars, or a good share are otherwise infected.

[dmhrdh]

As a dental hygienist and clinic manager I am extremely insulted by your comments about dentists.  As with any profession, there will always be bad representatives but the vast majority of dental offices are professional and follow universal procautions.  Most cases of HCV are contracted BY dental professional from instruments either during treatment on an infected patient if they would puncture their glove with a contaminated instrument or during preparations for the sterilization process.  
Also, once an office purchases an autoclave, there is no cost to sterilize instruments other than the cost of water used in the autoclave and the wrap that is used.  It is a very small part of a dental offices overhead.  In addition to the packing we use telling us that when an instrument has been sterilizied that really only tells you that the package reached high enough heat, so, most dental offices monitor their autoclaves and send in samples and controls to verify the autoclave is working correctly.  This is done in our office bi-weekly. Ask your dentist to see the report from the sterilization monitors if you're concerned.
You make blanket, ridiculous, false statements that scare people unnecessarily.
As to the posters question.....yes, there is a chance you could contract HCV from an office that appears to be unclean.  You should have turned around and walked out the door and reported the office to the Dept. of Professional Regulation.

[nygirl7]

I've got to go to the dentist shortly and now I'm nervous more than ever......never was before but I'll be peaking everywhere! I don't want his disease back!

[Rockerforlife]

Sorry if i am scaring you ,BUT i think what i have said is not blanket, ridiculous, false statements that scare people unnecessarily. What i am saying is people should be very cautious of getting this hep C again,especially afetr going tru all this heLl we call TX.Even you yourself said "yes, there is a chance you could contract HCV from an office that appears to be unclean"...so what have i said thhat is any different form your statement?....i want to see the tools being cleaned with my own eyeballs before the tolls touch my mouth,i am DO NOT trust anyone,anybody anything again.

[Rockerforlife]

Make sure you actually see the tools being used on you being cleaned or walk away,i asked my dentist to do this because im afraid of catching any disease ,never mind hepatitis, and he said it was ok....no problem and that he fully understands.And as for tattos....ya got too be kiddn.

[Vic1967]

I really think the way  I got my hep c was probably from Dental work. Really other than that I got my ears pierced when I was 12 years old (30years ago) and my immunizations as a kid.  Other than that I had never had any other needles, tattoos, other behavior or even been hospitalized.  I tested positive after donating blood about 5 years after that suspicious dentist visit.
Of course, I'll never know anyway.

[Isobella]

How long are the instruments supposed to stay in the autoclave?  I wouldn't want them rushing the job up just because I was waiting.

In the future, I think I'm going to ask for the first appointment of the week...that way everything will be sterile and all the germs around the office from Friday afternoow will have had a chance to die.  

[Rockerforlife]

Did the dentist look "unclean".ive been to some who freaked me out,there was blood on the walls and white specs and strips all over the wall,waht i cant figue out is had the wall got stained as the wall was a long ways away from the dental chair....i was like a scene from a marylin manson video

[Rockerforlife]

DENTAL patients across Scotland are being put at risk of infection from blood diseases such as HIV and hepatitis because of poor standards of hygiene.

Dr Mac Armstrong, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, has written to all dentists calling for urgent action to improve basic sterilisation techniques. Dr Armstrong has also written to all GPs and health boards calling on them to ensure high standards are maintained.

BECAREFUL
http://www.hcvets.com/data/transmission_methods/dental.htm

[Rockerforlife]

I WAS READING tools need to be also scrubbed in a sink before the auto clave IN ORDER TO BE 100% virus free.

The move follows a Scottish Executive study which found that dental surgeries routinely failed to meet basic hygiene standards.

According to the study, three quarters of practices do not change the water in their sterilisers on a daily basis.

Half do not have a dedicated sink for the cleaning of drills, probes and tweezers, while 70 per cent have no record of staff training for sterilisation techniques. A further 60 per cent have no instruction manuals for sterilising equipment.

[Rockerforlife]

"One problem lies with the mechanical dental handpiece which ***** fluid, including blood and other matter, from the mouth . After treatment, if the dentist adheres to guidelines, it is flushed through very rigorously and left to rest for some time

[dmhrdh]

You did not scare ME.  I know the standards most offices use.  By the way, if you.
want to WATCH your instruments be sterilized, make sure you arrive early
.
You do this all the time and I find it extremely annoying.  You are full of conspiracy theorys and it has gotten to the point of being ridiculous.  I came here today to try to catch up and I found this post.  I thought being IN THE PROFESSION I might be able to help out.  Instead, I found myself immediatley irritated by your comments on this post. I should have stayed away....just as I suspected.

Denise

[Rockerforlife]

I just posted studies backing up my statements,can you?

[dmhrdh]

Yes, I have 30 years of experience in the profession with 24 hours of continuing education a year to back up my statements.   I'm not going to argue about this anymore.  I guarantee I know more about sterilization in the dental office than you do.The point is, yes, you can catch HCV from a dental office that does not properly sterilize it's instruments.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. The point is, in an office that uses proper sterilization proceedures the chances that you would contract it from your DDS is virtually nil.  On the other had, the chances that the dental provider could contract HCV from a HCV positive patient is much higher.
I have never had a patient ask to see us sterilize our instruments....although they can see what we do in our office.  They can see that they are sterillized when we open the the sterilized instruments in their presence.  Our sterilization area is an open area in the center of our clinic so everyone can see what we do.  We also post our sterilizer testing for patients to view.
Again, you tend to lump all offices into the bad category and that is not fair.
I'm done.  Enjoy your conspiracy theories...you seem to have plently of them.
Denise, SVR and moving on..........

[cindyh113]

All I know is this Stinking, Killing, Damnation of a Virus don't want to die!!!
So, let me throw another way into the fire. What about abortion clinics? I comparing ways of getting this thing, I have found this to be common among some of my friends. A few months ago when there were people coming out of 3 different VA hospitals with Hep C and HIV, just one more stinking virus to worry about, after having colonoscopy's,  I had to wonder how an abortion clinic could possibly clean everything appropriately. Too much blood, too many clients and too little time.
Sorry if this is too controversial, but needs to be thought about.

[cindyh113]

I have had this one my mind to ask for some time. While I was on TX I wondered if I could re-infect myself with my own toothbrush so I was soaking it in alcohol. And spraying alcohol around on the sink to clean. Then I hear alcohol isn't that great for killing virus. Every morning when I brush my teeth, I wonder if this is why I relapsed. I still clean with the alcohol and careful to keep it away from me.
And for those who don't know, Trin, relapsed after 72 weeks. I hate this virus!

[Rockerforlife]

I am not saying ALL dentists are to blame ,but even you admitted that sod are bad.

[Rockerforlife]

Failure of gloves and other protective devices to prevent transmission of hepatitis B virus to oral surgeons.

JAMA 1988 May 6;259(17):2558-60 Reingold AL, Kane MA, Hightower AW Department of Biomedical and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.  

     A survey of 434 oral surgeons was conducted to examine risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Overall, 112 (26%) of the participants demonstrated serologic evidence of past or current infection with HBV. Seropositivity was significantly associated with age, number of years in practice, and year of graduation from dental school but not with other variables examined, such as the number of patients seen annually or the number of patients seen who were at high risk of HBV infection. The strong correlation between years in practice and seropositivity was unaffected by reported use of gloves, face masks, or eye shields. The use of gloves and other protective devices does not appear to offer substantial protection against HBV exposure in oral surgeons, and all oral surgeons should receive HBV vaccine. PMID: 3357229, UI: 88188297    

[jdwithhcv]

Rocker, the JAMA article you just posted deals with practitioners being infected by patients, not the reverse.

[Rockerforlife]

Ya think?

[GoofyDad]

Why the need for such stifling continuity? Rather limiting to the creative process don't you think?

They found water on the moon.

[Rockerforlife]

What the big deal about finding water on the moon or even other planets?...nothing shocking there.,,,what i find shocking is there are billions of galaxies and in each galaxy their are billions stars and proberly trillions of planets just in on galaxy alone

[jdwithhcv]

You're right - but what can I say?  They fool you by walking upright!

[AKHepper]

Was this in the USA?

[GoofyDad]

Check for knuckle damage.  

[franke566]

So glad to hear you are SVR-I've been "lurking" and missed that.  Really-so glad to
know-congrats!
Like NYGirl and others said Hep C is contracted in so many different ways.  I hate to
go to a new dr and get that one eyed look when he or she asks how I got Hep C and I tell them I had a transfusion in the service and a tattoo before that.  Then I get my arms looked at and I just want to say...well, never mind.  My wife and daughter bring their own manicure set when they have their nails done and make sure the manicurist wears a mask and gloves.  Not for the manicurists protection-for theirs, as they are Hep C free.
I wouldn't go to a dirty barber shop much less to a dentist office like was described by the poster of this thread  
________________________

My Hepatologist wants me to get a Hep B and A vaccination.  How many of you have had this?