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5 Infection Control Strategies For The Well-Being Of Your Patients

5 Infection Control Strategies For The Well-Being Of Your Patients
by Katie Thalberg, LDA, LDH, BSDH

Infection control: a topic we all love dearly (sarcastic cough). Let’s admit it; it’s a dry topic that not a lot of us enjoy. Let’s break it down. There are several very basic habits in day-to-day practice that I have noticed can have a big impact on patient care. Implementing some very simple steps will help ensure that you are providing the best care for your patients, following the appropriate CDC guidelines, and protecting your career. So let’s dig in:

Safety glasses for patients

Is providing safety glasses for your patients a practice you already do? I did for a long time at the first practice I was at; it was just a regular practice that we all adhered to in the office. When I began teaching dental hygiene, it was definitely required. However, when I returned to clinical practice, not many of my coworkers were providing safety glasses to all patients, so I got a little lazy and didn’t do it as often.

Then I came across something called Jenn’s Vision1. Here is a quote from her Facebook page, “July 8, 2013, Jenn became blind in her right eye after proper infection control procedures were not followed at the Dentist, a needle was dropped in her eye.” Doesn’t that just make you SICK! Immediately after I read about Jenn’s story, I re-implemented having my patients wear safety glasses.

Shortly thereafter, I was showing a pediatric patient the sealant procedure. When I do this, I squirt a little bit of etch, then adhesive, then sealant, on my finger to demonstrate all of the steps. As I was doing this, the tip of my etch tube popped off, and a large glob of etch dropped directly on her safety glasses. Imagine the consequences if I had NOT had her wearing them!

Read full article on Today's RDH.