Objectives: To answer the focused question, "What are the prevalence of percutaneous injuries (PIs) on dentists, the location with the highest prevalence, and the dental instrument most responsible for these injuries?" As secondary outcomes, the prevalence by geographic location, type of PI, sex distribution, and dentist's specialty were also considered.
Eligibility criteria: Observational descriptive studies investigating the prevalence of percutaneous injuries on dentists were included.
Sources: Five electronic databases and three partial grey literature searches were performed.
Risk of bias: The MAStARI tool assessed the potential risk of bias (RoB) among the studies, while the GRADE approach determined the level of evidence.
Included studies: Among 2284 identified studies, 55 were included. Three studies were classified as low RoB, 17 as moderate RoB, and 35 as high RoB. The sample size ranged from 9 to 4107 dentists.
Synthesis of results: The PI prevalence in dentists ranged from 7.72% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93-37.59) to 66.74% (95%CI: 29.83-94.51). North America was the most affected region, while South America was the least affected. Differences between sexes were not significant. The dental bur was the most commonly reported dental instrument causing PIs.
Limitations: Owing to the very low GRADE level of evidence, caution should be applied when considering these findings and further research is required.
Conclusions: A high PI prevalence among dentists was noticed, and most were caused by dental burs. These findings imply that PIs should be considered by every dentist and proper measures instituted to reduce their prevalence.
Keywords: Dentists; Needlestick injuries; Prevalence; Review; Risk factors.
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