Bacterial contamination of clinical examination gloves

Dental clinicians have been wearing examination gloves routinely during clinical procedures since 1986, when the CDC advised using them as part of standard personal protective equipment recommendations. Initially, latex was virtually the only material available for examination glove construction; however, in recent years, numerous other materials have been utilized for glove construction in response to the increased recognition of latex allergies among patients and dental health care workers. Examination gloves are marketed as "non-sterile" according to the FDA, which sets specific standards governing the manufacturing and distribution of these products. This study examined the prevalence of bacterial organisms present in a variety of freshly opened glove boxes. The same glove boxes were put into clinical use for a period of time and re-tested for the presence of bacteria. The quantity of bacteria present on gloves in the new boxes differed in comparison to the gloves that remained in the used boxes.