Cross-contamination risks in the dental laboratory during denture processing

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for microbial contamination in the dental laboratory during dentures' processing. A total of 14 patients from the Department of Removable Prosthodontics of the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Bucharest participated in this study. 20 microbial samples were collected and 50 bacterial strains have been isolated. The species were aerobic bacterias and fungi. They were generally part of the normal oral flora and could cause different pathologies especially in immunocompromised patients. In conclusion, dentures tend to accumulate plaque and they become a reservoir for numerous microbial species, some of which may be responsible for a wide range of infections. A faulty manipulation in the dental office and in the laboratory of the removable dentures presents a risk of cross-contamination. Palabras clave: denture, cross-contamination, bacterial colonization