Proper hand hygiene is the most important step dental practices can take in the name of infection control and prevention. For Global Handwashing Day, we examine the history, challenges and best practices for hand hygiene in the dental setting.
Creating a culture of safety at your dental practice
A team commitment to infection prevention ensures the health, safety and satisfaction of your patients and staff while protecting your practice from costly repercussions.
Combating cross-contamination in the dental setting
Maintaining a safe, infection-free practice means avoiding cross-contamination whenever possible. Here are some best practices for proper hand hygiene, instrument processing and surface asepsis prevention.
Linda Harvey: 3 Common Misperceptions on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)
Compliance consultant Linda Harvey shares three common misperceptions regarding OSHA’s recently issued ETS for protecting health care workers from the coronavirus.
10 Steps to Promote a Culture of Patient Safety
While patient safety has long been paramount to modern dentistry, the newest challenges posed by COVID-19 have inspired many practices to review their policies and procedures. To help promote patient safety, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has created a list of recommendations.
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Linda Harvey: 5 Common Denominators of Compliance [VIDEO]
Compliance is a critical aspect of any successful dental practice. As such, it’s important to stay on top of current standards, laws and guidelines to safeguard your dental practice and patients. Here are five common denominators of compliance every practice should consider.
Oral Health Professionals: Meeting the Risks of COVID-19
After the initial outbreak of COVID-19 shut down almost 200,000 dental practices in the United States in early 2020, the industry needed to quickly develop an effective response that would not only allow practices to reopen safely but also ensure that patients could access the oral care they needed.
Dentistry Beyond 2020: Looking Forward to the Future
To say that 2020 was a year of rapid change is an understatement. After a brief shutdown of practices across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dental industry reopened with the adoption of new technologies, stricter infection control guidelines and a renewed focus on personal and team wellness. Linda Harvey, MS, RDH, HRM, shares her thoughts on what’s in store for 2021.
Building and Supporting a Robust Culture of Safety in the Dental Workplace
Infection control and adherence to strict regulations are critical components in the success of a dental practice. It is up to dental office leaders to create and sustain a culture of safety involving the entire dental team.
4 Ways to Reduce Aerosols During Dental Treatment
As we reenter the practice world, one question dominates every conversation. How do we best reduce the aerosol generated during dental treatment? David Rice, DDS, shares four ways you can keep you, your team and your patients safe.
Keeping Staff and Patients Safe: Personal Protective Equipment and Donning and Doffing Advice
Nothing is more important than protecting the lives of your patients and staff. Yet new circumstances you and other dental professionals are now facing require the use of more personal protective equipment (PPE) and the proper procedures for ensuring you and your team are securely covered – from head to toe.
On-Demand Webinar: Respiratory Precautions and Aerosol Management Solutions
Managing respiratory risk is critical as dental practices begin resuming regular care amid COVID-19. In this on-demand webinar, OSAP and Patterson Dental discuss current respiratory precautions and aerosol management solutions from an equipment and technology standpoint for dental practices.
Critical Compliance Factors as You Reopen Your Dental Practice
A growing number of states are allowing businesses, including dental practices, to reopen. Is your practice ready to resume routine patient care? Linda Harvey, RDH, shares several compliance factors to consider as part of your reopening process.
Patients, Team and Office – What to Think About as You Look to Reopen Your Dental Practice
After being closed for a few weeks, reopening your dental practice can be a stressful task that may not be well rehearsed among your staff. Creating a task list, communicating with your staff and patients, and ensuring a safe office space will help assure a smooth reopening transition.
Preventing the Spread of COVID-19: Infection Control in Dental Practices
Although every patient who enters a dental office should be treated as if they could have an infectious disease; times like these help us pause, take a step back and make sure we’re compliant with current guidelines set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Here are some ways to make sure your dental office is OSHA compliant.
3 Ways to Prioritize Compliance in Your Modern Dental Practice
As practices embrace diverse administrative roles, compliance becomes increasingly important. Teams need to be aware of the importance of maintaining compliance, whether staying up to date on labor laws, OSHA...
3 Reasons Electronic Safety Data Sheet Maintenance Makes More “Cents”
Did you know that Hazard Communication violations were the second most frequently cited violation in 2015? Besides being plentiful, these violations are also expensive! On August 2, 2016 OSHA increased...
Like This, Not Like That: How to Dress for Infection Control Success
You've put on your favorite brand of mask and tossed on a new pair of disposable gloves, which means you're protected, compliant, and ready to see your first patient, right?...
Caring For Your Ears Is As Important As Caring For Their Teeth
Ahhh, the busy hum of a bustling dental office. The chipper chatter of patients, the whir of a high-speed handpiece, the whoosh of the suction...all of this din may seem...
OSHA and the Dental Hygienist’s Role
Established in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) primary mission is workplace safety in all industries. While many of the OSHA regulations apply to dentistry, dental professionals focus...
4 Common GHS Questions – Answered!
OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard is designed to ensure chemical safety in the workplace so that information about the identities and hazards of the chemicals must be available and understandable to...
10 Products for a Clean and Compliant Office
CDC, OSHA, OSAP, ADHA. These are all organizations that require dental offices to be compliant with infection control regulations. Practices that do not meet these standards are subject to hefty...
4 Common OSHA Questions – Answered!
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) ensures safe and healthful working conditions for employees by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. Dental offices...
3 Costs of Complying with OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard
Let’s face it. Complying with OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard is a headache. It involves understanding the regulations, gathering SDSs, generating chemical reports, and much more. Because of this, many dentists...
New OSHA Requirement for the Dental Office
There is often misunderstanding as to what OSHA regulates in a dental facility. OSHA, in fact, is concerned with only one thing---the safety of employees. OSHA, which is an acronym...
Are You Really in Compliance with OSHA?
In general, dentists want to comply with OSHA regulations. After all, who would willingly risk the astronomical fines of up to $5K and more per incident per day? The problem...
5 Steps to Becoming More Confident in Infection Control Management
Are you up-to-date on the latest guidelines and standards from CDC, OSAP, OSHA and your state government? Do you stay current with industry news and continuing education? Develop more confidence...
Why MSDS Binders Are No Longer a Good Enough Approach
With new OSHA regulations coming into play, it’s time to rethink your bulky Material Safety Data Sheet binder. New OSHA Regulation – Hazard Communication For all hazardous products, OSHA requires...
Ebola Resources For Your Practice
Over the past few months, we’ve all watched as the Ebola situation has continued to evolve, with the US encountering its first diagnosed case on September 30th. As we learn more...
September Events
Here’s a list of a whole bunch of events we’ll be at in September. Be sure to come find us; we’d love to see you! Alabama 9/28 – Pelham –...