[Epidemiology and prevention of hepatitis B in dentistry]

Dental practitioners may be likely candidates for either acquisition or transmission of B hepatitis. Detection of virus B markers in sera indicates that the incidence of both overt hepatitis and asympotomatic HBsAg carrier state is higher among dentists than among the general population. Carrier dentists can transmit hepatitis B but controlled studies concluded that the frequency at which this occurs is probably rare. Hepatitis may be transmitted by non parenteral routes from patients to dentists and from patients to patients, via saliva, or instruments contaminated by blood or saliva. Prevention of B hepatitis implies special precaution for treating high risk patients, the use of efficient sterilization methods and education of the dentists.