Waste management from dental care in the health districts of Dakar, Senegal

Abstract

Management of medical waste is becoming an increasing public health concerns, especially as these waste treatment methods can themselves create both health and environmental risks. The objective of the study was to evaluate the management of waste from dental care in Dakar. A cross-sectional, descriptive study of dental services in Dakar, based on a questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge and attitudes of dentists on the management of dental waste. All practitioners stated that their offices had waste bins, 81.2% using plastic bags; 73.2% reported that the bins were washed and disinfected an average of once a day. Only 7.2% of the offices or facilities had an autoclave, and 5.8% an incinerator. Three quarters of the respondents did not know how to dispose of contaminated waste and none of them had conducted a study to estimate the quantity of their departmental waste. The management of waste from dental care is not structured in Senegal nor in most developing countries. Moreover, the gaps and ineffectiveness of legislation result in major threats to public health and the environment. The government should focus, among other things, on stakeholder awareness and training, by providing facilities with the resources necessary to contribute to sustainable development through the management of dental waste.