Disease risk increased

Press, 10 March 1988, Page 5

Disease risk increased

PETER LUKE

Political reporter

A.I.D.S. and other viral diseases were one of the grave risks patients would face if dentistry’ was deregulated. the Dental Association said yesterday. The 1547-strong association said that [viral diseases like., hepatitis, herpes and A.I.D.S. jwere known to spread through contact with tissue fluids and blood. “The dental environment is a prime area for the transmission of such diseases," the, association said in a submission to a select committee considering the Dental Bill. A Health Department spokesman said later that the potential for transmitting such viral diseases did exist in dentistry. There was no proof this had occurred in New Zealand, although hepatitis B had been known to be spread through dental procedures in the United States. The department was revamping its guide-lines on this ' issue for dentists. These should be finished in about two months. The spokesman would not comment on whether dentistry deregulation would heighten the risk of viral infection, but he stressed that blood was the real problem, as there

was no evidence that A.I.D.S. has been spread by saliva. In its submission, the association said it had prepared its own guidelines to control the spread of infectious diseases. "While registered dentists are subject to these rules, the bill permits others to perform dental procedures unrestricted by controls and even in ignorance of the need for or understanding of adequate sterilisation procedures.” “The proposed legislation places the dental consumer at a grave risk by allowing unregistered operators,” the submission said. The association also argued that most dental procedures were irreversible, and required considerable diagnostic and technical ability. It warned that dentistry could be life-threatening if inadequately trained workers treated patients with heart conditions, blood disorders, diabetes or medication allergies. A further by-product could be the demise of the School of Dentistry at Otago University, as fewer students would be prepared to undergo a rigorous five year course to become a registered dentist, argued the association.