Microbial contamination of a University dental clinic in Brazil

Abstract

Pathogens of the oral cavity of a patient can be transferred to the dental office surfaces by direct contact, aerosol instruments and blood or saliva. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbiological contamination presents in the stands, chairs and spittoons in the University Nilton Lins dental clinics, in Manaus, Amazonas. Samples were collected with sterile swabs and seeded in different microbiological culture media for the isolation of microorganisms collected from each room. Then, assays were carried out for identification of strains isolated from each environment, such as: Gram stain, DNA purification, Amplification of 16s rRNA genes and sequencing. All these experiments were performed in the LBS / ILMD / FIOCRUZ. It was found 40 CFU / mL in the stands, 43 on the chairs and 47 in the spittoons and it was also possible to identify microorganisms like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella sonnei and Staphylococcus aureus. The greatest number of CFUs was found in Clinic 3 and it was observed that the spittoon was the dental surface with the highest number of CFUs. Some of the bacterial species isolated are opportunists, suggesting that more severe biosecurity measures must be taken in order to prevent cross-infection.