Dental industry news, trends and information from Patterson Dental.
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.
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.
Wearing PPE is one of the most tangible ways healthcare workers can protect themselves from increased risks of COVID-19 infection. But due to the extended use and extra precautions taken, PPE can become uncomfortable.
Almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic forced public awareness of PPE, disinfection practices and social distancing, even those who were previously compliant with biannual dental visits may think that unless something is noticeably wrong, in-office dental care can be postponed indefinitely. But reassuring adults is only one challenge, another highly important task is conveying to parents what efforts your practice is making to maintain a child-safe environment.
Given our still-developing understanding of the coronavirus, it is clear changes to our daily life are here to stay. What we are experiencing is “the new normal.” For practices and patients to thrive, we must learn to accept and adapt.
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.
Hand washing, though it may seem simplistic during a pandemic, can actually be the most effective way of preventing the spread of germs, including those that cause COVID-19. As dental practices navigate the recent challenges related to COVID-19 and work to implement strategies to protect patients and staff, a closer look at hand hygiene may prove helpful.
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.
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.
Safety is a critical part of every dental patient’s experience. They want to feel comfortable about the care you and your team provide, and that includes the steps you take to ensure they’re safe from infection. What patients see in your waiting room and operatories is only part of the story. Would they still feel good about your practice if they looked into your sterilization room or could inspect your dental unit waterlines?
Keeping high-touch personal items and PPE clean can provide additional safeguards against the spread of COVID-19. One solution for sanitizing high-touch personal items is the new PurLite™ Clean UV-C Cleaner. PurLite is a sanitizer that uses advanced, medical grade UV-C technology to provide a fast and effective way to ensure patients and employees feel safe and protected while in your office.
Undeniably, COVID-19 has forever changed the way we practice dentistry and manage infection control. Every area of your practice has been impacted, from how patients are scheduled and checked in, to how office staff don and doff all the new PPE.
When dental offices reopened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some practice owners saw an increase in costs associated with PPE, coupled with a loss in revenue from scheduling fewer patients. Learn how Mark Ligocki, DDS, surpassed pre-COVID production and collections by performing new procedures and doing more same-day dentistry with the Solea all-tissue laser.
In part two of its series “Implementing Routine Quality Assurance of Infection Prevention Policies and Procedures,” OSAP continues its close look at instrument reprocessing. Specifically, part two in this series outlines one approach to performing routine quality assurance related to packaging instruments during reprocessing.
A recent global health pandemic has brought personal protective equipment (PPE) to the public’s attention, but dental professionals have long been familiar with the concept of PPE. Despite this, many workers fail to adhere to PPE requirements because they find equipment cumbersome, uncomfortable or disruptive to performing tasks and communicating with patients and personnel. To remove these barriers, dental offices must supply PPE that maximizes ease of use, comfort and performance.
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.
Cleaning and sterilizing dental instruments for re-use can be tedious and dull, but the task is a crucial component to ensuring the safety of staff and patients. Further, ensuring that instruments are free of potentially infectious material and debris is critical to the quality care that dental health professionals pledge to provide. Gain a better understanding of this importance and see how to set up an easy-to-maintain compliance program in this guest post from Hu-Friedy.
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.
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.
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.
Overall, February is a pretty solid month…lots of flowers and chocolates, cozy blankets, and the first inklings of Spring. One thing February is famously NOT great for? FLU SEASON. The worst in more 7 years, this current 2017/2018 influenza season is widespread and according to the CDC, […]
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? Not necessarily. Just because you have a mask on, doesn’t mean you’re wearing it correctly. […]
Houseguests can be a pleasure to host if they’re courteous and polite, which thankfully is most often the case. Unfortunately, though, most of us have also experienced the “other” kind of guests…the kind that take “make yourself at home” far too literally. They leave lights […]
Let’s face it, cleaning and sterilizing instruments for re-use might just be one of the most tedious and dull parts of your day. But the bottom line is that it is also a crucial part of your day. Ensuring that instruments are free of potentially […]
Are you ready for the onslaught of sniffles, contagious coughs, cancelled appointments, and sick staff members? While you can’t control flu-infected patients walking through your door, there are some simple things you can do behind the scenes to protect yourself and your team. By following […]
Safety must be at the forefront of each process in the delivery of oral health care. In order to ensure the safest dental visit for both workers and patients proper cleaning and disinfection of clinical surfaces must be understood and implemented appropriately. We are reminded […]
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 fines and in extreme cases, loss of license. Beyond the punitive damages that can result […]
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 in your infection control management by increasing focus on training, documentation and ongoing education. Follow […]
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 about this virus, its symptoms, and the way it’s spread, many of us have questions […]
“Which contact time do we follow for our disinfectant – there are three times listed?” “How do I get our students to comply with PPE?” “Do I have to wear my gloves? My hands get sweaty!” I could fill tomes with the questions I’ve received […]