Needlesticks and sharps injuries are serious concerns for any dentist—both physically and financially.

Accidental needlestick injuries to healthcare workers are estimated at between 800,000 to 1,000,000 per year in the United States. Of course, that doesn’t include the countless ones not reported or documented. All of these come with a set of costs.

Getting into the numbers

You also have to take into account disposal. This isn’t just container costs, but the transportation of the disposed of from your office, plus the cost of incineration. That cost is approximately $0.20.

The formula is:

Needle purchase price + testing cost + disposal cost = actual cost

Example: $0.15 + $0.50 + $0.20 = $0.85

Weighing the cost

You can use this formula to weigh the potential economic benefits of safer needle technology to reduce the occurrence of sharp injuries. A safer needle system like SimpleCAP could be a better financial and physical option for your practice.