Needlestick injuries in dentistry: Time to revisit.

BACKGROUND: Blood-borne pathogens (BBPs) are infectious microorganisms that are found in human blood and can cause diseases in humans. Health care workers such as physicians, surgeons, nurses, dentists, dental students, dental assistants, laboratory technicians, personnel handling infectious waste, and other health care employees are at increased risk of exposure to these pathogens. Percutaneous injuries from needles or other sharp objects are the major sources of BBPs in the workplace. Needlestick injuries (NSIs) have the most potential to transmit and have the easiest mode of transmission of BBPs. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED: The authors searched electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, Embase, MEDLINE-Ovid) for studies and articles focused on the various aspects of NSIs, their possible causes, prevention, and management protocols. RESULTS: There is a lack of literature on the global prevalence of NSIs among dental practitioners and underreporting of NSIs by clinicians. The authors also found that dental students and inexperienced practitioners were the most vulnerable. They found apparent inconsistencies in guidelines and recommendations from various regulatory and statutory agencies in charge of limiting and managing NSIs. CONCLUSION: The most significant occupational risks for health care workers globally are NSIs. Dentists are recognized as one of the high-risk groups for exposure to NSIs. Although the reporting rate was noticeably low, the frequency of NSIs among dental students was alarmingly high. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Appropriate and succinct training of dental health care workers is crucial for prevention and management of NSIs. It is recommended that dentists familiarize themselves with recommendations from such agencies and organizations as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and American Dental Association.

Expression of syndecan-1 in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma: An immunohistochemical study.

Background: Syndecans are a family of transmembrane proteins, belonging to heparin sulphate proteoglycan family and are localized entirely to the epithelial cells with the stratified squamous epithelia. They are involved in cell-cell adhesion and interaction with the extracellular matrix and play a critical role in cell growth, differentiation, cell morphology, and migration. The down regulation of syndecan-1 indicates loss of cellular adhesion and possibility of invasion. The present study is aimed to evaluate the difference in immunohistochemical expression of syndecan-1 in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and control group. Methods: The present study consists of 42 cases of paraffin-embedded tissue sections of OSCC; 14 well differentiated, 14 moderately differentiated, and 14 poorly differentiated. As a control, 10 paraffin-embedded tissue sections of unaffected oral mucosa were used. The sections were stained for immunohistochemical expression of syndecan -1. The intensity of staining was scored. The immunohistochemistry scores for each sample were obtained by Tissue Quant software. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant decrease in intensity of staining between normal and different grades of OSCC. Conclusion: This study shows that as cellular differentiation was lost, syndecan-1 expression was less. This provides an insight and understanding of the pathophysiology of the invasive process of OSCC and helps in establishing the prognostic link.