Dental infection with hepatitis B

We performed a prospective study to assess the risk of patients acquiring infection following routine professional contact with two dentists incubating type B viral hepatitis. Serum samples from patients exposed during the six weeks before onset of hepatitis in the dentists were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and for antibody to the antigen shortly after illness developed and again six months later. Household members of exposed patients served as a control group. None of the exposed patients or controls became ill with hepititis, and none developed antigen. Three of the 237 exposed patients developed antibody, as did four of the 245 controls. The difference between exposed patients and controls was not significant. These results do not support the hypothesis that these two dentists transmitted infection to their patients.