The health and function of your hands is crucial if you are to ensure that you perform to the best of your ability. This is particularly relevant to dental professionals where working with pain or discomfort can adversely impact the quality of treatment and care provided, in turn putting patient satisfaction, practice reputation and, ultimately, revenue at risk.
According to a recent Health and Safety Executive study, dental nurses and dentists are 10 and 7 times (respectively) more likely to suffer from contact dermatitis than the all industry average. [i] Of the top causative substances identified, a number commonly found within the dental industry could be associated with this high prevalence of skin irritation[ii]. These include soaps and cleaners, wet work and rubber chemicals and materials. This situation is further compounded by the potential chafing caused by frequent donning and doffing of gloves throughout the day. However, it is possible to alleviate many of the potential risks by choosing high quality gloves for your practice.
High-quality medical grade examination gloves are now suitable for use in the dental setting. But how do you choose the best gloves for you and your team in order to help protect against such irritation and discomfort?
Essentially, you need strong yet tactile gloves, which offer sufficient grip. Of course, they must also provide an effective barrier against bodily fluids and potential infection, protecting both you and your patients.
Other aspects to consider include colour, which can be chosen to effectively reflect your corporate branding or alternatively be utilised in a practical manner such as identifying glove size at a glance or distinguishing dentists, hygienists and dental nurses within your practice. General comfort and appropriate fit help to avoid hand fatigue whilst easy donning and removal reduces the risk of irritant contact dermatitis. In addition, products that promote hand health and help to moisturise the skin can be a huge benefit for all the team.
A market-leading manufacturer of high quality, single-use gloves, Unigloves now offers the exciting new Vitality range, designed specifically for dental professionals. Utilising a lanolin and vitamin E coating to help keep the skin moisturised, the gloves feature a double-chlorinated cuff to ensure easy donning and removal and are fully micro-roughened to enhance grip and control.
It may seem trivial, but you or your colleagues might already suffer from dry skin and chapped hands, and it may only be a matter of time before your hands became sufficiently sore that your clinical performance is affected or you are unable to work.
To ensure that you are able to maintain the highest standards of dental care and treatment, make sure that you look after yourself and your hands.
For more information, please visit www.unigloves.co.uk or call 01634 726 516
[i] Health and Safety Executive. Index of data tables. THOR – Voluntary reporting of occupational diseases by specialist doctors: Index of THOR tables. Skin Disease (Cases reported by consultant dermatologists to EPIDERM), THORS04 – Contact dermatitis: numbers and rates by occupation, updated 10/15. Link http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/index.htm#thor [Accessed Dec 2015]
[ii] Health and Safety Executive. Index of data tables. THOR – Voluntary reporting of occupational diseases by specialist doctors: Skin disease (Cases reported by consultant dermatologists to EPIDERM), THORS06 – Occupational dermatitis: numbers of diagnoses in which particular causative substances were identified. Link
