Forensic Luminol Blood Test for Preventing Cross-contamination in Dentistry: An Evaluation of a Dental School Clinic

BACKGROUND More than 200 different diseases may be transmitted from exposure to blood in the dental setting. The aim of this study is to identify possible faults in the crosscontamination chain control in a dental school clinic searching for traces of blood in the clinical contact surfaces (CCS) through forensic luminol blood test. METHODS Traces of invisible blood where randomly searched in CCS of one dental school clinic. RESULTS Forty eight surfaces areas in the CCS were tested and the presence of invisible and remnant blood was identified in 28 (58.3%) items. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the luminol method is suitable for identifying contamination with invisible blood traces and this method may be a useful tool to prevent cross-contamination in the dental care setting.