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Can you use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer on treatment gloves during patient treatment after touching equipment or surfaces?  

As a matter of policy, Ask OSAP does not provide legal advice. Ask OSAP can provide you with some general information on this topic. Additionally, you may wish to consider contacting your state dental board for further information, as well as the glove and hand sanitizer manufacturers regarding manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a webpage which contains information pertaining to alcohol-based hand rubs. It states in part:

Q: Can alcohol be used on Gloved hands?

It is very important that staff allow the alcohol to dry properly before donning gloves, and that they clean their hands again after removing them, if indicated. It is not recommended that staff use the alcohol-based handrub whilst gloves are on their hands^{. 1}

The full webpage can be accessed at:
http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/faqs/system_change/en/ ¹

On its website, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a webpage that pertains to hand hygiene and the use of alcohol-based hand rub which can be accessed at:
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/questions/hand-hygiene.html²

The CDC also has a webpage pertaining to personal protective equipment which can be accessed at:
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/questions/personal-protective-equipment.html³

Additional information pertaining to the CDC guidelines for infection control in dentistry can be accessed at:
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/index.html⁴

Further information about alcohol-based hand rubs can also be found in the CDC publication Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings which can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5116.pdf.⁵

Resources

(1) World Health Organization. System change - changing hand hygiene behaviour at the point of care. http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/faqs/system_change/en/ Accessed on June 11, 2018.

(2) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hand Hygiene. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/questions/hand-hygiene.html Accessed on June 11, 2018.

(3) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Personal Protective Equipment. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/questions/personal-protective-equipment.html Accessed on June 11, 2018.

(4) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infection Prevention & Control in Dental Settings. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/index.html Accessed on June 11, 2018.

(5) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5116.pdf Accessed on June 11, 2018.