Dentists must not reuse instruments for root canal treatment because of a possible risk of infecting patients with variant CJD (vCJD), the Chief Dental Officer said yesterday.

Barry Cockcroft issued guidance to all dentists in England, telling them to use instruments called reamers and files only once.

The “precautionary” measure follows on from advice given to the Department of Health by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. It comes after early results from research by the Health Protection Agency into the potential risks of vCJD.

There have been no reported cases of anyone contracting vCJD from dental procedures.

Dr Cockcroft said: “There are no reported definite or suspected cases of vCJD transmission arising from dental procedures — this new guidance to dentists is purely an extra precaution. The public should continue to attend their dentist as normal.”

About a million NHS endodontic (root canal) treatments are carried out every year in England and Wales.

To date, there have been 165 reported cases of vCJD, known as the human form of “mad cow disease” or BSE. The number of people carrying the infection is unknown, with estimates between one in 1,400 and one in 20,000 people, although it may be less among some age groups. It is also not clear how many of those carrying the infection are likely to develop symptoms of vCJD, according to the Department of Health.

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