Health and safety issues pertaining to dental photographic mirrors and cheek and lip retractors.

This paper investigates the health and safety implications of using photographic dental mirrors and cheek retractors for photography of the intra-oral cavity. Medical photographers have moral and ethical responsibilities, and therefore should be aware of the diseases they are likely to encounter, and the possibility of cross infection when using these instruments. Although autoclaving is the safest way to remove infectious micro-organisms from contaminated instruments, that this may not be a practical method for small departments who only occasionally use these instruments. The alternative approach is to cold-sterilize the instruments using a chlorine- or alcohol-based disinfectant. The author provides information and guidelines for those who photograph the intra-oral cavity occasionally.