Characterisation of Dental Waste in Tertiary Dental Hospitals: A Third World Example

Abstract

Dental (Medical) waste has been defined as all wastes generated from health care or health related facilities. The waste generated from the dental hospital are of various materials, sizes, shades and shapes and are therefore regarded as heterogeneous [1]. There are dental liquid wastes such as X-ray (developer and fixer) wastes and other chemicals and drugs generated within the dental or medical facilities in general. The waste can also be in form of solid generated from the diagnosis, investigations and treatment of human beings and or in animal trials [2,3]. The solid waste generated from the dental hospital can be broadly categorised into two, namely; infectious and non-infectious wastes. The mode of treatment of these waste differ sharply for the safety of man and his environment. Generators of medical/dental wastes are defined as those producing more than 23 kg of regulated medical/dental waste per month [4]. For generators who manage their waste by shipping to offsite disposal facilities, they are supposed to separate, package, label, mark, and track the waste according to regulations [2, 5]. In Nigeria, generators have, for long time, assumed treatment methods based on techniques suitable for treatment of municipal solid waste.