IMPORTANT ADVICE
TO DENTAL PATIENTS
You may have seen recent national press news of a directive from the Department of Health recommending dental practices discard root canal therapy instruments after each use to reduce the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD).
We would like to reassure our patients that we comply with the Department of Health’s directive; our practice policy has always been to treat root canal instruments as single use and we adopt the highest standards of decontamination and cleaning routinely in our practice.
Our practice guidelines for root canal instruments are:
Disposable instruments are used wherever possible.
All root canal instruments are disposed of after each use.
All used root canal and disposable instruments are disposed of in clinical waste for incineration.
Questions and Answers
Q: How many people have caught vCJD from endodontic dental procedures?
There are no known or suspected cases of vCJD transmission arising from dental procedures.
Q: Are patients at risk because they have had a root canal treatment in the past?
Almost everyone is at some risk of being infected with vCJD due to dietary exposure to BSE. Any additional risk from a root canal treatment could only arise if the instruments had been previously used on an infective patient.
Nevertheless, a precautionary approach is justified in view of the large number of procedures carried out.
Q. What is the risk of an infected person passing the infection to me through endodontic treatment?
The proportion of people carrying infection is highly uncertain. Published information suggests that this may be between 1 in 1,400 and 1 in 20,000 people, though it may well be less for some age groups. Even if instruments had been used on someone carrying the infection, it is not clear how great the risk of vCJD being passed on would be, as the only evidence we have on this comes from animal models. It is also not clear how many of those carrying the infection are likely to develop symptoms of vCJD: given the much smaller number of cases actually seen so far, the majority may never do so. Nevertheless, a precautionary approach is justified in view of the large number of procedures carried out.
Q: Will I be at risk if I have a root canal treatment in the future?
The measures that we have now put in place should minimise any potential risk of human-to-human transmission of vCJD through endodontic dental procedures, provided they are rigorously applied.
