Tuberculosis

Abstract

Approximately one-third of the world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis (TB). After a brief resurgence beginning in the mid-1980s, the incidence of TB is once again declining in the United States. Health care workers, including dentists and their staff, however, remain at risk for occupational acquisition of the disease. This risk can be managed by educating dental health care workers about the oral and systemic manifestations of TB and the mechanisms by which it is spread so that appropriate measures may be taken in the office to minimize the opportunity for disease transmission.