Abstract
Dental clinics are one of the sources of waste production that are important due to producing infectious and potentially infectious waste, chemical and pharmaceutical waste, and toxic waste. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze dental clinics in Zabol quantitatively and qualitatively. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 on waste produced in dental clinics in Zabol. Sampling of 25 dental clinics was performed three times per week. At the end of the working day, the samples were transferred to a suitable site and weighed carefully after separation of the components. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Excel software. 5457 kg of waste is annually produced in the dental clinics of Zabol that the amount of infectious and potentially infectious waste, household-like waste, chemical and pharmaceutical waste, and toxic wastes are approximately 48.08, 43.75, 7.82 and 0.35%, respectively. Given that proper management of waste produced is not performed in dental clinics in Zabol, special attention to waste produced in this sector through programs of reduction in source, separation and recycling can reduce the waste volume significantly.
Keywords: Dentistry waste, Dental clinics, Waste composition, Infectious waste, Toxic waste
Specifications Table
| Subject area | Environmental science |
| More specific subject area | Waste management, |
| Type of data | Tables, Figure |
| Data collection method | Sampling of 25 clinics was conducted on three occasions and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. At the end of the workday, samples were transferred to a suitable site and then weighed. Weighing of samples was such that first waste was separated into components and weighed using scale model SP-400. To estimate waste produced per person per year, the number of workdays in 2014 was determined according to the country official calendar equal to 286 days. |
| Data format | Raw/Analyzed |
| Experimental factors | Composition of dental waste/Weight of dental waste components |
| Experimental features | Waste produced per person per year/Per capita waste production was determined |
| Data source location | Zabol, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran |
| Data accessibility | The data are available in this article |
Value of the data
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The data presented in this article present a detailed description of dental waste produced in private dental clinics.
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The data can be useful for managers of municipalities to select best methods to manage dental waste and supply necessary equipment and facilities.
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Quantitative and qualitative data on dental waste could assist decision makers on source reduction, separation and recycling programs.
1. Data
Healthcare waste is a highly dangerous waste group requiring special attention. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, this waste contains substances resulting from health care activities on humans and animals and infectious agents. Approximately 75–90% of the waste produced in health care centers is non- hazardous or public solid waste, but 10–25% of the remaining waste is hazardous. This group of waste has health and environmental hazards due to containing infectious agents, sharp objects, pathological waste, hazardous chemicals or pharmaceutical waste and or having genotoxic and radioactive effects [1], [2], [3], [4]. This paper presents data supporting quantitative and qualitative analysis of dental clinics׳ waste in Zabol city, Iran. According to the results of this study, the total amount of waste produced in the private dental clinics in Zabol is 5456.9 kg/y of which 2623.53 kg per year is related to potentially infectious waste, and 2387.35 kg is related to household-like waste. The amount of chemical, pharmaceutical and toxic waste is 426.71 and 19.3 kg, respectively. Fig. 1 shows the percentage of the waste produced in private dental clinics in Zabol. As shown, potentially infectious waste constitutes 47.55% of waste. Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4 depict the amount and percentage of potentially infectious waste, household-like waste, chemical and pharmaceutical waste and toxic waste produced in the dental clinics of Zabol.
Fig. 1.
Percentage of potentially infectious, household-like, chemical, pharmaceutical and toxic waste produced in the dental clinics in Zabol.
Table 1.
The amount and percentage of different components of the potentially infectious waste produced in the dental clinics of Zabol.
| The type of waste produced | The amount of waste produced (kg/y) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Tooth extracted | 22.47 | 0.86 |
| Latex gloves | 881.86 | 33.61 |
| Mouth stick | 168.48 | 6.42 |
| Blood-contaminated cotton | 35.14 | 1.34 |
| plastic syringe | 221.46 | 8.44 |
| Nylon gloves | 172.8 | 6.59 |
| Blood-contaminated paper towel | 260.59 | 9.93 |
| Suction tip | 181.73 | 6.93 |
| Saliva-contaminated paper towel | 104.03 | 3.97 |
| Needles and sharp objects | 217.15 | 8.28 |
| Saliva-contaminated dental roll | 104.03 | 3.97 |
| Dental mirrors | 70.56 | 2.69 |
| Blood-contaminated dental roll | 23.13 | 0.88 |
| Saliva-contaminated cotton | 24.15 | 0.92 |
| Blood-contaminated bandage | 68.04 | 2.59 |
| Dental spatula | 8.93 | 0.34 |
| Saliva-contaminated bandage | 54.38 | 2.07 |
| Paper cone | 4.6 | 0.18 |
| Total | 2623.53 | 100.00 |
Table 2.
The amount and percentage of different components of the household-like waste produced in the dental clinics of Zabol.
| The type of waste produced | The amount of waste produced (kg/y) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Nylon | 659.76 | 27.64 |
| Dental disposable tray | 457 | 19.14 |
| Paper and newspaper | 294.04 | 12.32 |
| Molding plaster | 178.61 | 7.48 |
| Mouth mask | 148.08 | 6.20 |
| Glass | 127.75 | 5.35 |
| Tea waste | 95.5 | 4.00 |
| Paper cup | 86.57 | 3.63 |
| Empty amalgam capsule | 73.68 | 3.09 |
| Metal | 64.68 | 2.71 |
| Hat and apron | 37.6 | 1.57 |
| Other | 164.08 | 6.87 |
| Total | 2387.35 | 100.00 |
Table 3.
The amount and percentage of different components of the chemical and pharmaceutical waste produced in the dental clinics of Zabol.
| The type of waste produced | The amount of waste produced (kg/y) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Molding plaster | 42.04 | 9.85 |
| Gutta-percha | 15.83 | 3.71 |
| X-ray film | 15.18 | 3.56 |
| Consumed ampoule | 353.66 | 82.88 |
| Total | 426.71 | 100.00 |
Table 4.
The amount and percentage of different components of the toxic waste produced in the dental clinics of Zabol.
| The type of waste produced | The amount of waste produced (kg/y) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Lead cover of X-ray film | 14.98 | 77.62 |
| Amalgam | 4.32 | 22.38 |
| Total | 19.3 | 100.00 |
2. Experimental design, materials and methods
2.1. Study area description
Zabol city is the capital of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Fig. 2), which lies on the border with Afghanistan, and has a total area of approximately 344 km2. Population of Zabol was 137,722 in 2011.
Fig. 2.
The location of the study area, Zabol city, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran.
2.2. Sample collection and analytical procedures
Zabol has 31 private dental clinics of which 25 clinics cooperated for conducting the study. Sampling was performed every week with no public holiday. Sampling of 25 clinics was conducted on three occasions and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. At the end of the workday, samples were transferred to a suitable site and then weighed. Weighing of samples was such that first, waste was separated into components and weighed using scale model SP-400. The number of patients referred to each dental clinic was determined to investigate the daily per capita waste production per patient. To estimate waste produced per person per year, the number of workdays in 2014 was determined according to the country official calendar equal to 286 days. Given that all 31 private dental clinics were not willing to participate in this study, measurements were multiplied by a factor of 1.4 to estimate the total waste produced in the city.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Research Assistance of Zabol University of Medical Sciences (No.16J/267) for financial and spiritual support.
Funding sources
This paper is the result of the approved project at Zabol University of Medical Sciences under No.16J/267.
Footnotes
Transparency document associated with this article can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.06.041.
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.06.041.
Transparency document. Supplementary material
Transparency document
Appendix A. Supplementary material
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Transparency document
Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Supplementary material