Dental Exposure

[rainyday562]

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.

[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