If you could present people with fundamental rules of thumb for practicing proper infection control in a dental office, what would they be?
One aspect of infection control that is sometimes forgotten in the ongoing evolution of technologies, methodologies, and products is that long-standing, basic infection control principles have not really changed over the years. While there is certainly no single "best list," I can offer the following to summarize major areas:
- Perform effective hand hygiene
- Immunize against vaccine-preventable diseases
- Use personal protective equipment appropriately
- Heat sterilize all reusable patient care instruments/items used intraorally
- Use respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette
- Prevent cross-contamination with aseptic technique and environmental asepsis
- Prevent sharp injuries by using safe work practices and engineering controls.
You may find that as you review and consider each of these, many of the procedures and protocols that you perform as routine components of your practice day provide effective applications of these principles. You may be pleasantly surprised as to just how well your infection control program is working.
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| Demonstration of fit and feel for right- and left-fitted versus ambidextrous gloves. |
There are new products on the market that talk about being "eco-friendly," yet many infection control products are labeled as disposable, and I hear some may even be toxic to the environment. What is the status of environmentally friendly infection control products?
A new era of developing strategies and marketing products designed to address environmental issues is rapidly expanding into multiple areas of infection control. Many hospitals and other healthcare facilities took the initiative to lower waste accumulation by using approaches that include adopting programs that use more recyclables and reusable items and looking for products that reduce the amount of disposable waste.