Biosafety conducts adopted by orthodontists

ABSTRACT Objective: This cross-sectional observational study was designed to assess the biosafety conducts adopted by orthodontists, and possible differences regarding training time. Methods: Both the application of methods for sterilization/disinfection of instruments and materials, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) were collected through questionnaires via e-mail. Results: The questionnaires were answered by 90 orthodontists with a mean age of 37.19 ± 9.08 years and mean training time of 13.52 ± 6.84 years. Regarding orthodontic pliers, 63.23% use an autoclave, except 1 who does not perform any procedure. All participants use autoclave to sterilize instruments, and 95.6% of respondents perform cleaning with chemicals prior to sterilization. Most of them (65.56%) use an autoclave to sterilize orthodontic bands, with some still associating disinfection methods, while few (18.89%) do nothing at all. There was a high incidence of the answer “nothing” for the methods used for elastic, accessories, bandages, metal springs, and arches. All respondents use mask and gloves in attendance, 78.92% use aprons, 58.92% use protective goggles, and 50.01% use cap. Training time significantly influenced (p = 0.003) only the use of glutaraldehyde for sterilization/disinfection of pliers. Conclusions: The sterilization and cleaning of pliers, instruments, and bands, besides the use of PPE, received more uniform and positive responses, while other items suggest disagreements and possible failures. Only orthodontists trained for more than 13 years choose using glutaraldehyde for pliers sterilization/disinfection, the only adopted method with a significant difference in relation to training time.

**摘要**
目的：本横断面观察性研究旨在评估正畸医师所采用的生物安全操作规范，并分析不同执业培训时长下的操作差异。
方法：本研究通过电子邮件问卷收集两类数据：一是器械与材料的灭菌/消毒方法应用情况，二是个人防护装备（Personal Protective Equipment, PPE）的使用情况。
结果：共计90名正畸医师完成问卷，受试者平均年龄为37.19±9.08岁，平均执业培训时长为13.52±6.84年。针对正畸钳，63.23%的医师采用高压蒸汽灭菌器进行灭菌，仅1名医师未采取任何处理措施。所有受试者均使用高压蒸汽灭菌器对器械进行灭菌，95.6%的受访者会在灭菌前先采用化学方法进行清洁。多数医师（65.56%）使用高压蒸汽灭菌器对正畸带环进行灭菌，部分医师还会联合使用其他消毒方法，仅有少数（18.89%）未采取任何处理措施。对于牵引橡皮圈、正畸配件、绷带、金属弹簧及正畸弓丝的处理方式，选择“未采取任何措施”的比例极高。所有受试者在接诊时均佩戴口罩与手套，78.92%的医师使用手术围裙，58.92%使用护目镜，50.01%佩戴工作帽。培训时长仅对正畸钳灭菌/消毒使用戊二醛的情况存在显著影响（p=0.003）。
结论：正畸钳、器械及带环的灭菌与清洁操作，以及个人防护装备的使用情况，获得了较为统一且正向的反馈；而其余项目则反映出操作标准存在分歧与潜在疏漏。仅执业培训时长超过13年的正畸医师会选择使用戊二醛进行正畸钳的灭菌/消毒，这也是唯一与执业培训时长存在显著相关性的操作方法。