Are Montana Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and Montana's rule does something unusual among the states in this guide. ARM 24.138.2301, the Board of Dentistry's unprofessional conduct rule, makes it a disciplinable offense to fail "to…
Are West Virginia Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and West Virginia's requirement is written directly into the discipline statute by the legislature, in notably broad terms. W. Va. Code § 30-4-19(g)(20) makes it a standalone ground…
Are Nebraska Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — but Nebraska gets there indirectly, and its own rules will not tell you so. Nebraska's dental office rules, 172 NAC 55, are titled "Dental Office Maintenance" and consist of…
Are New Hampshire Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and New Hampshire is unusually direct about it, because "weekly" appears as a line item on the dental board's own published inspection form. The New Hampshire Board of…
Are Mississippi Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and Mississippi arrives at the requirement by an unusual route. Its dental infection control rule is grounded in a public health statute about disease transmission rather than in the…
The September 2026 issue of Dental Bytes covers updated federal guidance on antibiotic prescribing, two September observances focused on infection prevention and patient safety, regulatory relief for small dental practices, new research on dental opioid prescribing, and a reminder about…
Dentistry is rewarding, but it can also be demanding. Long hours, time pressures, patient anxiety, perfectionism, financial and operational responsibilities, and the physical demands of clinical care can all contribute to chronic stress. Over time, unmanaged stress can affect not…
Proper sterilization is an essential part of infection prevention in the dental office. But how do you know your sterilizer is working properly? The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends three types of sterilization monitoring – mechanical,…
Are Maine Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and Maine's rule stands out in this guide for how specific it gets about federal OSHA compliance, not just infection control. Under 02-313 C.M.R. ch. 12, § I(A) —…
Are Idaho Dental Offices Required to Perform Spore Testing? Yes — and Idaho states the interval directly in the rule text, the same conditional structure Oregon uses. Under IDAPA 24.31.01, Rule 200.09, "heat sterilizing devices must be tested each calendar…
