Over 1,200 students exposed to under-sterilized dental tools in Seattle, Vashon

SEATTLE - More than 1,200 students at schools in Seattle and Vashon Island were potentially exposed to hepatitis and the HIV virus through dental equipment that was not completely sterilized, says a local health provider.

Neighborcare Health, which operates school-based health clinics, said the students and their families were notified about the possibility of exposure after a review discoverd a deficiency in sterilization procedures involving some of the dental handpieces used at the 12 affected schools.

Neighborcare Health CEO Michael Erikson said in a statement that the handpieces - which are used to hold dental instruments - were disinfected but not fully heat sterilized as required by Neighborcare Health’s policy.

As a result, about 1,250 dental patients seen at the school-based clinics were potentially affected, Erickson said. Students at Seattle schools were potentially affected prior to March 4 of this year. Students at Vashon Island schools were potentially impacted between September 2017 and March 2018.

"We want to first clearly express how sorry we are for this incident and any concern that it causes our patients and their families ... and what we are doing to ensure it cannot happen again," Erickson said.

The affected schools in Seattle are Denny International Middle School, Chief Sealth International High School, Van Asselt Elementary, Mercer Middle School, Roxhill Elementary, West Seattle Elementary, Highland Park Elementary, Madison Middle School, Beacon Hill International and Bailey Gazert Elementary.

The two Vashon Island schools are Chautauqua Elementary and McMurray Middle School.

Neighborcare Health said that during the period in question, the handpieces were cleaned with a germicidal disinfectant that kills pathogens associated with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV - but some handpieces did not undergo required heat sterilization. All other instruments used during dental procedures were properly sterilized.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are no reports in the literature of infectious disease transmission from a dental handpiece, so the risk to students is considered to be very low, Erikson said.

Nevertheless, notification letters were sent to patients who may have been affected by the incident to notify them of possible exposure, and to provide details on how they can get testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The screening will be provided at no cost to patients at Immediate Clinic urgent care centers.

"It’s still a risk. That’s crazy. You can’t skip any steps. I mean – I work in the food industry. We can’t skip any steps. We sanitize. We dry. And then we re-wash and heat them up just making sure that we get everything we can," said parent Steven Underwood, who received a letter from Neighborcare Health last week.

Erikson said Neighborcare has retrained all school-based dental staff on proper sterilization processes and policies, and will also ensure that all new and current dental assistants are following sterilization procedures.

"We are working to be transparent in our understanding of what happened, the actual risk to potentially affected patients, and how we can ensure that this incident will not happen again," Erikson said.

A spokesman for Seattle Public Schools told KOMO News that the district takes great care to ensure the safety of its students.

"The City of Seattle supports dental and health care onsite at many of our schools. Public Health King County selects and manages dental care providers through a rigorous process. While we are deeply concerned, we appreciate that Neighborcare Health has been proactive in informing families and schools about the protocol deficiencies identified in its school-based dental programs. While incidents described by Neighborcare Health pose a low risk, we encourage families to contact Neighborcare for support and free health screenings. Any additional questions should be directed to Neighborcare Health," the district spokesman said.