Prevalence of manufacturing defects in latex examination gloves used in selected dental practices in central Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To assess the defect rates in latex examination gloves used in selected dental practices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 796 latex examination gloves were collected from 5 governmental hospitals and 5 private dental practices between April 2012 and May 2012. The gloves were assessed for presence of defects visually (VT) and using water inflation test (WIT). One and 2 sample t-tests were used to assess significant differences in defect rates among each latex brand, and between governmental hospitals and private dental practices.

RESULTS: Defects in latex gloves were more likely to be identified using WIT compared with VT (20.2% versus 4.3%, p=0.000). Using WIT, examined latex gloves had a defect rate approximately 8 times the acceptable quality level of 2.5% (20.2%, p=0.000). Using WIT, gloves used in private dental practices had significantly higher defect rates compared with governmental dental clinics (25.6% versus 14.6%, p=0.006).

CONCLUSION: Most latex examination gloves used in the sampled governmental dental clinics and private dental practices in Riyadh had significantly higher preexisting defect rates than acceptable standard levels.