While not prohibited, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that dental personnel with direct contact with patients refrain from wearing artificial nails, keeping natural nail tips to no longer than ¼ inch in length. Artificial nails have…
In order to prevent needle sticks, OSHA prohibits dental practitioners from performing unsafe work practices during needle handling. During patient care, it is important to always handle contaminated needles safely: Do not pass or accept exposed contaminated needles to/from another…
Dentists have options when disposing of medical waste, consisting of red-bag waste and contaminated sharps, generated in their offices. Many states allow medical waste generators to use approved mail-back systems for medical waste disposal, which provide a simple, economical alternative…
Biofilms are microbial communities that form on the walls of the small-bore plastic tubing that delivers water from the dental unit through the dental handpieces, scalers, and air-water syringes to the patient. Currently, no quantitative water quality standards specific to…
Effective August 13, 2014, businesses with 20 or more employees located or doing business in San Francisco must comply with the city’s new Fair Chance Ordinance. On February 4, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the new local law…
Most state dental boards require weekly spore testing. In addition to CDC's infection control recommendations include weekly sterilizer monitoring. Staying in compliance can be a challenge especially if staff skips a week due to vacations or even terminations. If the…
We have received calls in the past from dentists asking if they are required to pay for a sign-language interpreter for hearing-impaired patients. The short answer to the question is – it depends. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires dentists…
Do you know OSHA requires dental offices to have written OSHA safety plans in place that specify how various hazards in the office will be controlled to protect employees? Employers, including dental offices, must have these customized written plans onsite…
The shelf life of sterilized packaged instruments can be either date-related or event-related; both are acceptable. Date-related shelf life refers to a first-in first-out policy, meaning that the items that are sterilized first are used first, so long as the…
The current edition of Costco Connection (June 2014) Costco Connection (June 2014) contains an article asking readers to provide their opinion to the long-standing debate of to fluoridate or not to fluoridate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and…
