Management of Biomedical Waste in Dental Clinics
Dental waste is a subset of the hazardous biomedical waste, which if not safely disposed can pose a threat to the environment and public health.
Abstract
Government of India under its gazette notification from the Ministry of Environment and Forests informed to all concerned that no one can dispose any kind of waste, general or biomedical waste, in the open. Disposal of harmful waste produced by dentists and clinics can pollute the environment. Dental biomedical waste disposal in the roadside bins can infect the municipal waste collectors if they are not properly protected. In view of this, most nations have introduced best management practices for hazardous dental waste disposal. Biomedical waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities. This waste is potentially hazardous, the main hazard being infection, and may pose a serious threat to human health if management is indiscriminate and unscientific. Proper collection and segregation of biomedical waste are important.2 Dental practices produce tiny amount of other types of waste, such as silver amalgam, mercury, and various chemical solvents. The dentists generate only 3% of total medical waste estimated by US medical waste tracking system.3 An increasing variety of items that have hitherto been reused are now designed to be disposable, such as custom tips and triple syringe tips. Operating gloves are worn for almost all patient contact, resulting in a substantial increase in the amounts of latex and vinyl entering the waste stream. Surgical instruments, such as local anesthetic needles, scalpel blades, and suture needles, constitute a special category of contaminated sharp items.4 Waste disposal from dental practices can be divided into two main areas. First, there is environmental burden of various hazardous products, and second, the more immediate risks of potentially infectious material that may be encountered by the individuals handling the waste. In 1998, the Ministry of Environment and Forest in India defined biomedical waste as, “Any waste generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities used in production or testing of biologicals.” Dental waste is a subset of the hazardous biomedical waste. Dental practices generate large amounts of cotton, plastic, latex, glass, sharps, extracted teeth, and morally it becomes the responsibility of the health care provider. Chemical wastes, such as lead foil mercury from amalgam restorations, photographic chemicals like fixer, and developer are also generated in dental practice, which if not safely disposed can pose a threat to the environment and public health.5 1,4-6Senior Lecturer, 2Consultant, 3Tutor 1Department of Public Health Dentistry, PSM College of Dental Science and Research, Thrissur, Kerala, India 2Department of Pedodontics, Arivu Health Care, Hubballi Karnataka, India 3SVS Institute of Dental Sciences, Mahabubnagar, Telangana India 4Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences, Puducherry, India 5,6Department of Prosthodontics, PSM College of Dental Science and Research, Thrissur, Kerala, India Corresponding Author: RS Dhanya, Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, PSM College of Dental Science and Research, Thrissur, Kerala, India, e-mail: drdhanyamdstcr@ gmail.com ABSTRACT