Contaminacion cruzada por el uso de tubos de resinas compartidos en las clinicas odontologicas de la Universidad Santo Tomas, Floridablanca
Objective: to determine the cross infection caused by resin tubes shared among patients on Dental Clinics at Universidad Santo Tomas, Floridablanca. Materials and methods: In vitro observational study. 39 composite resin tubes for posterior teeth (P60) and manufactured by 3M were analyzed, the colors available were B2, A2 and A3, used in patients at the Dental Clinics of Universidad Santo Tomas, manipulated by students from seventh to tenth semester during the second period of 2014. The resin tubes are distributed, 13 for each floor of the clinics and the samples were taken directly from the composite resin already in use, later the samples were analyzed by laboratory tests in order to establish the presence of microorganisms. Also, the microorganisms that could cause cross infection were identified and finally a management scheme for these composite was proposed with the purpose to avoid contamination. Results: 50% of the samples were contaminated with 15 main microorganisms and three secondary ones. Conclusion: the percentage of contaminated samples of composite resins is significant, indicating that there is cross infection when handling the composite resins.