Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.
Why Dental Gloves Matter And How To Pick a Pair
When it comes to purchasing dental gloves for the practice, it can be easy to simply buy what’s cheapest or whatever meets infection control requirements. While this might seem shrewd at first, it can quickly lead to everyday discomfort, poorer handling and inferior protection.Long term consequences can include hand fatigue and overspending on gloves that are not durable enough or have a short shelf life. Taking some time to source good quality dental gloves can help keep the team happy, patients safe and improve overall efficiency.
Why protecting your hands is so important
Dentist and dental nurses are required to wear patient examination gloves for all non-surgical treatments and routine examinations. The primary reason for this is to prevent contamination of the dentist’s hands from blood or saliva and to prevent transmission of infection from the dentist’s hands to the patient. Hands should be disinfected prior to donning gloves and a new pair should be worn for each patient.
What are the best dental gloves?
In recent years, nitrile gloves have replaced latex gloves as the industry standard and preferred choice for most. Due to its synthetic composition, nitrile holds several advantages over latex as a material including greater puncture resistance, a longer shelf life and resistance to more chemicals and substances.
This difference in quality is reflected in nitrile gloves being ever so slightly more expensive than nitrile, but this price difference is barely noticeable now nitrile gloves are so popular. The shift from latex to nitrile gloves has also occurred because of the commonality of latex allergies and the subsequent need for alternative materials. Latex gloves are still widely used in the industry and preferred by some due to the elasticity and touch sensitivity provided.
Are nitrile gloves puncture resistant?
Because it is a stronger material, nitrile gloves are more resistant to puncture than latex gloves. However, no examination glove can completely protect from all puncture hazards as no material is 100% puncture-proof. While this means that dental gloves cannot provide a barrier to sharps injuries, they can provide protection as any sharp passing through the glove to break the skin may be ‘wiped’ on the glove before wounding.
Does size matter?
Size matters a great deal when it comes to dental gloves. Gloves that are too big and loose can slip off accidentally, cause a distraction, provide a weaker grip and give less protection from cross-contamination. Gloves that are too small or too tight can decrease dexterity, be uncomfortable, affect blood supply and cause stress that can result in tears. You can use our Dental Gloves Size Guide for more information on how to measure up and find the right fit.
How are dental gloves tested?
The key European standard to be aware of is EN455 – Medical Gloves for single-use.
- EN455-1 Requirements and testing for freedom from holes
- EN455-2 Requirements and testing for physical properties
- EN455-3 Requirements and testing for biological evaluation
- EN455-4 Requirements and testing for shelf-life determination
It is essential that your choice of gloves conform with the above requirements.
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