Biosafety in dentistry

Introduction: Work activities in dentistry generally expose workers to a variety of occupational hazards. This hazards include physical and chemical agents, ergonomic, biological and accident risks. The routine contact with them should be a cause for reflection and intervention. Objective: To describe the scientific literature on biosafety in dentistry. Methods: The authors conducted a review of the state of the art, adopting criteria for evaluating the works most directly related to dental practice. From the controlled descriptors (MeSH) “biosafety” and “dentistry”, a search was conducted in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, the National Library of Medicine and the Cochrane Library databases. Results: Based on the association between keywords, 66 items were found. Aafter refinement, 12 articles were included in this review. Results showed that the scientific literature on biosafety is vast and broad, as well as in dentistry. However, when the association of biosafety and dentistry keywords is made, the number of studies decreases considerably. Nevertheless, the surveys were mostly developed by national experts from the Northeast region of Brazil and showed that the awareness and adoption of biosecurity measures in the area is still insufficient to ensure the protection of staff and patients qualitatively. Conclusion: It is suggested that the rules of standard precautions be rigidly followed, and that education activities be promoted among professionals.