Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol 127, Issue 1, 83-88
Copyright © 1996 by American Dental Association
Latex hypersensitivity: its prevalence among dental professionals
GS Safadi,
TJ Safadi,
GT Terezhalmy,
JS Taylor,
Battisto JR,
and
AL Melton Jr
Section of Allergy & Immunology/A 72, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA.
Reports of hypersensitivity to latex are growing among oral health care workers, who have a high degree of exposure to latex products. The authors undertook a study to determine the prevalence of latex hypersensitivity among oral health care workers in a hospital dental practice. Among the 34 people who participated in the study, 12 percent had positive results in a skin prick test for latex. This suggests that the true prevalence rate of immediate hypersensitivity to latex in this group of oral health care workers is similar to that in other health care workers who use latex gloves frequently.