The usage of gloves in dentistry has increased greatly over the last ten years and this highlighted certain problems when they have been worn extensively. While skin irritations and allergies caused by latex proteins and accelerators have been the main focus of attention, dental materials such as disinfectants have also become known as a source of skin reactions. This study was performed to evaluate the permeability of various gloves by ethanol. The tip of the middle finger of ten glove brands (natural latex gloves (NLG) powdered or unpowdered, powdered vinyl and synthetic elastomer) was exposed to 5 ml of a hand disinfectant (Desderman TM). After a penetration time ranging from 2 minutes to 8 hours the permeation of Desderman was detected with a gas chromatograph (F45, Perkin-Elmer). Only one component of the disinfectant (ethanol) could be detected to have gone through the gloves. After only 2 minutes the vinyl glove and after 10 minutes all glove types were permeated. Natural latex gloves of a higher price showed a tendency to a lower rate of leakage and the synthetic elastomer (Biogel Neotech TM) was the only one with a significantly lower penetration after even 2-8 hours. Schlagwörter: digital dental radiography, CCD sensor, storage phosphor, dose reduction