Probe into dental ops vCJD risks

75m dental procedures are carried out each year in the UK

Scientists are to investigate whether the human form of mad cow disease can be passed on through dental surgery.

The Health Protection Agency, a government advisory body, will use mice to see if vCJD can be passed on from contaminated dental instruments.

They will also see if the mice show signs of the disease in the tissue in their mouths.

The risk is thought to be small, but comes after concerns vCJD could be spread via donated blood and tissue.

The government has taken measures to protect the blood supply by banning donations from certain groups, including those who have had blood transfusions since 1980, after it emerged two people may have been infected after having a blood transfusion.

One concern is that people will become alarmed before we know what the risks are Janet Gibbs, of the Human BSE Foundation

There have also been concerns about whether the prions responsible for vCJD can be spread by surgical instruments, especially when used during brain surgery.

The aim of three-year experiment is to give the Department of Health more guidance on the risks posed by vCJD in dentistry and to determine whether stricter advice on the best cleaning methods needs to be issued.

The study was outlined at the HPA's annual conference at the University of Warwick, which heard an estimated 75m dental procedures are conducted in the UK each year and 2m of these are invasive root canal treatments.

Risk

Experts will also look at the different methods of decontaminating surgical instruments, such as manual scrubbing, the use of sound waves and washer disinfection.

Researcher Joanne Dickinson said they believed the risks from dental procedures were very small, but the study would help to quantify them.

"This is really an information gathering exercise.

"The Department of Health will have the information to decide what the level of risk is and what measures need to be put in place."

Janet Gibbs, of the Human BSE Foundation, a victim support group, said while dental procedures were not thought to be the highest risk area, the research was still welcome.

"I think it is best that we investigate these things. There are concerns about this, we know of families of people with vCJD who have struggled to see dentist.

"But one concern is that people will become alarmed before we know what the risks are."