On July 23, 2024, Cal/OSHA’s new rule to protect employees from unsafe indoor heat took effect. California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3396 – Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment requires most employers where the indoor temperature…
Recently, a patient filed a complaint with his state dental board against his dentist for not giving the patient back his extracted teeth. Which begs the question… how should dental healthcare personnel (DHCP) manage extracted teeth? OSHA does not prohibit…
On May 20, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule that will update the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to improve the amount and quality of information on chemical labels and safety data sheets (SDSs)…
On May 5th every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World Hand Hygiene Day! Each year the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign aims to progress the goal of maintaining a global profile on the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare and to…
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the media, has reported on recent outbreaks of measles cases in the United States. On March 29, CNN published a news story reporting that measles cases for March 2024…
In February, two dental practices faced extreme violence in the workplace. The first occurred on February 7, 2024, at a clinic in New Orleans, when an allegedly unhinged woman entered the dental office, asked to speak with the dentist, and…
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exempts dentistry, as a low-risk industry, from posting and maintaining the OSHA Form 300 Log, and from reporting that information to OSHA. The OSHA Form 300 Log provides a summary of work-related…
Once a year, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) holds Safe + Sound Week, which is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on…
Occasionally, we receive inquiries about whether or not dental auxiliaries are allowed to perform a specific dental task, or “duty”, in California. Recently, we were asked if dental assistants (DAs) may perform Invisalign procedures in California. In general, the best…
This is a query that we often hear from our clients. Most waste generated by dental offices falls into the category of minimally contaminated, general solid waste and thus may be discarded in the regular trash. Some examples include used…
