Dental nitrile gloves: price, standards and sizes
From €3.81 to €17.95 per box of 100 in the Belgian dental channel. AQL, tensile strength, thickness, accelerator-free: what to check before you buy.
Prices updated on 31 July 2026.
On 31 July 2026, a box of 100 powder-free nitrile exam gloves costs between €3.81 and €17.95 at Belgian dental distributors. For a roughly equivalent product, that is a ratio of 1 to 4.7. Price is not the whole story: four specifications make the difference, and most product sheets list none of them.
How much does a box of 100 nitrile gloves cost in Belgium?
Public prices at Belgian dental distributors, powder-free nitrile exam gloves, normalised to 100 units.
| Product | Pack | Price | Per 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrile Powder Free (DPI / Aldena) | 100 | 3.81 | 3.81 |
| Nitrile Dental Market, blue | 100 (min. 10 boxes) | 4.15 | 4.15 |
| Nitrile Dental Market, black/white/pink | 100 (min. 10 boxes) | 4.60 | 4.60 |
| Medibase blue | 200 | 8.90 | 4.45 |
| ART ONE ultra-thin | 100 | 4.90 to 5.30 | 4.90 to 5.30 |
| Unigloves White Pearl | 100 | 5.95 to 7.50 | 5.95 to 7.50 |
| PoloDent Pearl | 100 | 5.95 | 5.95 |
| Unigloves Blue Pearl | 100 | 6.50 to 6.95 | 6.50 to 6.95 |
| Akzenta Supreme Style | 100 | 6.50 | 6.50 |
| Micro-Touch accelerator-free | 100 | 6.95 | 6.95 |
| Omnident Pearl Soft | 100 | 6.95 | 6.95 |
| Halyard Basics | 200 | 14.50 | 7.25 |
| P.D. Soft Nitrile | 100 | 7.50 | 7.50 |
| Nitrile powder-free | 100 | 7.90 | 7.90 |
| Unigloves Format | 100 | 7.95 | 7.95 |
| Safetouch Advanced blue | 100 | 8.90 | 8.90 |
| Meditril Soft | 100 | 9.91 | 9.91 |
| Kimberly-Clark Sterling | 100 | 17.95 to 19.90 | 17.95 to 19.90 |
| Unigloves Format Blue 300 (reinforced) | 50 | 9.90 | 19.80 |
For a practice that goes through 100 boxes a year, the gap between the top and bottom of the table is €1,414 a year, with no change to material or compliance.
For comparison, a Dutch wholesaler lists €33.00 excl. VAT per 1,000 units, i.e. €3.30 per 100, while a French dental depot goes up to €16.50 incl. VAT per 100. The specialised dental channel costs more, sometimes much more.
Sterile gloves are a different product, and a different budget (from €24.50 a box to €78.50 for 50 pairs depending on the brand). Don’t compare them with an exam glove.
Which standards must a dental exam glove meet?
A nitrile exam glove carries a dual marking: it is at once a Class I medical device under Regulation (EU) 2017/745 and Category III personal protective equipment under Regulation (EU) 2016/425. Both, not one or the other. A sheet that lists only one is incomplete, and a sheet claiming “Class IIa medical device” for an exam glove is simply wrong.
The reference is the EN 455 series, in four parts.
| Standard | What it requires | The figure to check |
|---|---|---|
| EN 455-1 | No perforations | AQL 1.5 for exam gloves (200 gloves tested, 7 defects max). AQL 0.65 for surgical. |
| EN 455-2 | Physical properties | Tensile strength ≥ 6.0 N for nitrile and latex; only 3.6 N for vinyl and TPE; 9.0 N for surgical. Tested on receipt and after accelerated ageing. |
| EN 455-3 | Biological safety | ”Powder-free” = under 2 mg of powder per glove. Low endotoxin = 20 EU per pair max. Talc banned. |
| EN 455-4 | Shelf life | Accelerated ageing of at least 120 days, 180 recommended. Claimed shelf life: 3 years maximum. |
They sit alongside EN ISO 21420 (general requirements), EN ISO 374-1 and 374-5 (chemical and microbiological protection), and, for practices handling cytotoxics, ASTM D6978 on permeation by chemotherapy drugs.
Nitrile and vinyl are not held to the same threshold: 6.0 N versus 3.6 N, almost double. A compliant vinyl glove is still twice as weak.
Powdered or powder-free: the question is settled
It no longer arises. Talc is banned by EN 455-3, and powder carries latex allergens as much as it contaminates the operating field. The only term to look for is powder-free (poedervrij in Dutch). The Belgian catalogue is now powder-free almost across the board.
Accelerator-free: does it really cost more?
No, quite the opposite.
Vulcanisation accelerators (thiurams and carbamates) are the leading cause of type IV contact dermatitis among clinical staff. The question comes up constantly on practitioner forums: “I’m allergic to carba mix, can I ask for rubber-free gloves?”
The industry sells accelerator-free gloves as a premium range, but the prices don’t follow:
- In the Belgian catalogue, Micro-Touch accelerator-free is €6.95 per 100, cheaper than the standard Unigloves Format at €7.95.
- At a Dutch wholesaler, the standard and accelerator-free versions sell at the same price, €33.00 excl. VAT per 1,000.
In practice: if someone on the team has peeling, cracked or itchy hands after work, switching to accelerator-free costs nothing. One of the rare choices that improves comfort without weighing on the budget.
Which size and thickness?
Sizes follow hand circumference in inches: XS (5.5-6), S (6-7), M (7-8), L (8-9), XL (9.5-10). Fit varies a lot between brands: you’ll often wear M from one maker and S from another, simply because the stretch differs. Never order a full case when switching brands without testing one box first.
Thickness is read in three places, in millimetres or mils (1 mil = 0.0254 mm). A technical sheet for an accelerator-free nitrile glove reads, for example: fingers 0.12 mm (4.7 mil), palm 0.08 mm (3.1 mil), length 240 mm. Thinner gives more tactile feel but tears more easily when donning; thicker protects better but tires the hand over a day. For surgery and scaling, long 290 mm cuffs are available.
Gloves and impression silicone
Some gloves inhibit the set of addition silicones. Residual sulphur from the accelerators blocks the polymerisation of polyvinylsiloxane: the impression stays tacky on the surface, or doesn’t set at all. You notice it on a failed impression, rarely before.
Three reflexes cut the risk: don’t handle the putty or light body with a glove that has just done something else, rinse and dry gloved hands before taking the impression, and choose an accelerator-free glove when the impression protocol is sensitive. If it keeps happening, change the glove before you change the silicone.
What to check before ordering
- Powder-free per EN 455-3, under 2 mg per glove.
- AQL 1.5 stated explicitly (EN 455-1).
- Tensile strength ≥ 6.0 N (EN 455-2). If it’s not on the sheet, ask for it.
- Finger and palm thickness, in mm or mil.
- Accelerator-free if anyone on the team has skin reactions. The extra cost is nil.
- Dual marking: Class I medical device + Category III PPE, with notified body number.
- Expiry date: claimed shelf life can’t exceed 3 years (EN 455-4). Check the batch on delivery.
- Price per 100 units, never the sticker price: packs run from 50 to 200.
Method and sources
Prices are the public prices at 10 Belgian dental distributors, aggregated in the Minti catalogue and pulled on 30 July 2026. The catalogue holds 272 glove references, 144 of them nitrile. Public prices don’t include per-practice negotiated discounts.
Standards: EN 455-1 to 455-4, EN ISO 21420, EN ISO 374-1 and 374-5, ASTM D6978. Regulatory framework: Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (medical devices) and Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (PPE). The thickness and compliance figures come from the manufacturer’s public technical sheet.
Compare the price of your gloves across all your Belgian distributors. Create your free Minti account.