Preliminary experience with polyethylene fibre glove liners in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

The poor performance of latex gloves in preventing penetrating injury is well established. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons face the additional problems associated with wiring techniques and high-speed rotary instruments. A pilot study is presented assessing the efficacy of high-strength polyethylene fibre gloves, used in a triple-gloving technique, in preventing inner glove perforation. The results showed that there were fewer perforations of the inner glove in the surgeon wearing the glove liner, but the difference was not significant.