Patient: Can I be infected with Hepatitis C if I operate in this way during dental treatment? I went to the hospital today to have my teeth drilled. One of the instruments is a water jet, 10 cm long, with a water jet nozzle, and after drilling the tooth, the water jet removes debris. I think the instrument may not be sterilized in general, right? However, it often touches the patient’s oral skin and accounts for saliva and blood. At my request, the doctor wiped the instrument with an alcohol cotton ball in the order of the handle first and then the nozzle, and the cotton ball was very wet. After wiping, it was used immediately, but I learned that alcohol is not effective against the hepatitis C virus, and that some of the blood from other parts of the device will be mixed in the alcohol liquid and remain in the nozzle. Is there a risk of transmitting hepatitis C when I use it this way? Suppose hepatitis C is present on the device. In addition, the doctor wiped the alcohol with rubber gloves and held the squirt, grabbed the cotton, rolled it into a twist and poured the poison into the cavity, sealed the outside with zinc oxide, ended the treatment, and came back 10 days later. The cotton will be stained with hepatitis C through the gloves? Very afraid! Yuan Gang, Department of Hepatology, Ningbo Second Hospital
A: The use of non-disposable syringes and needles and dental instruments that are not strictly sterilized are important ways of hepatitis C virus transmission. Dental instruments are usually sterilized by alcohol soaking or autoclaving in more formal dental clinics. The hepatitis C virus is sensitive to chemical disinfectants in general, and 75% medical alcohol is the most commonly used chemical disinfectant that is effective against the hepatitis C virus, I don’t know where you learned that alcohol has no killing effect on the hepatitis C virus?
So from what you have presented, you don’t need to worry too much. If you are really unsure, because if there is a window period for checking hepatitis C antibodies you may miss the diagnosis, you can go to the hospital after 3 weeks to test the level of HCVRNA (nucleic acid of hepatitis C virus) directly, if it is negative you are not infected with hepatitis C virus. Good luck!