Summary
Highlights
The organizers conclude the webinar, thanking OSAP for their partnership and the speakers for their valuable contributions. They reiterate the importance of infection control awareness, especially in September, and encourage attendees to utilize available resources and deals on infection control products. The overarching message is to prioritize safety and improve the quality of care in dentistry.
Dr. Sami Shahal, a general dentist, focuses on intraoral and extraoral evacuation techniques and technologies to reduce aerosols. He identifies ultrasonic devices, rotary instruments, and air-water syringes as primary aerosol generators. For intraoral evacuation, he recommends rubber dams, and devices like Purevac HVE and Ivory ReLeaf, which provide effective suction while enhancing patient comfort. He also highlights the Isolight system for retraction, illumination, and aspiration. For extraoral evacuation, he mentions HEPA air filtration systems, specifically the Jade Air Purifier, and external aerosol suction units, emphasizing their role in protecting staff and patients.
Carson Carpenter, a practicing dentist and president of Compliance Training Partners, introduces the webinar, highlighting the rapid evolution of infection control, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasizes the importance of current best practices to protect staff, patients, and the business, noting dentistry's success in controlling COVID-19 transmission compared to other healthcare sectors.
Andrea Carpenter discusses the critical importance of waterline safety. She outlines CDC guidelines requiring less than 500 CFUs of heterotrophic bacteria per milliliter in dental unit water. She advocates for self-contained water systems, quarterly system shocking with bleach, weekly waterline cleaners or low-level disinfectants, purging lines to dry, discharging water between patients, and quarterly water testing for each operatory.
Nancy Dewhurst, an infection control specialist, covers surface asepsis, focusing on barriers and chemical disinfection. She advises simplifying surfaces, using FDA-cleared medical-grade barriers on hard-to-clean or delicate surfaces (like electronics and upholstery), and employing EPA intermediate-level disinfectants for high-touch areas. The importance of the 'clean before disinfect' principle and understanding product chemistry is stressed. She also introduces Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) as an emerging technology for air and surface disinfection.
Dr. David Rezny presents a demonstration by Dr. K Benz on the correct procedure for donning and doffing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The process includes hand sanitizing, putting on a gown, an N95 respirator (with a seal test), eye protection/face shield, and gloves. Doffing involves removing gloves, face shield, N95 (touching straps only), and gown (rolling it to avoid touching the outside), followed by hand sanitizing. This detailed procedure is crucial for preventing disease transmission.
Karen Gregory, a registered nurse and Director of Compliance and Education at Total Medical Compliance, explains the sterilization process. She emphasizes that instruments used in a patient's mouth must be cleaned and heat-sterilized. Key steps include proper transport of contaminated instruments in closed containers with heavy-duty utility gloves, cleaning (using ultrasonic or instrument washer), packaging in FDA-cleared materials, proper loading of the sterilizer to avoid overloading, and three-pronged monitoring (physical parameters, indicators, and weekly spore testing). Proper storage of sterile packages is also critical.
Dr. Gary Severance, Executive Leader for Professional Services at Henry Schein Dental, discusses air quality and filtration as a means of breaking the chain of infection. He highlights that air circulation exposes everyone in the office to pollutants. He explains the EPA's three steps for controlling air pollutants: source control (intraoral and extraoral evacuation), ventilation, and air cleaning. Dr. Severance details different filtration types (MERV, HEPA, Carbon/Charcoal) and inactivation methods (UVC light, photocatalytic oxidation, ionization). He advises dentists to choose systems appropriate for their unique office setup, considering air change rates and sound levels.