Dental Infection Control Awareness Month

By Dr. Katherine Schrubbe, RDH, BS, MEd, PhD.

Infection control is a vital component of safe dental care

As healthcare providers, we strive to do what’s best for our patients. As such, we have an obligation to pay attention to health initiatives that will benefit them. Although our focus is on providing the highest quality dental care and treatment, other general health campaigns and programs play an important role in promoting overall health for patients.

February is Dental Health Month. April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. June is National Safety Month and September is Dental Infection Control Awareness Month (DICAM). DSOs and large group practices frequently have the infrastructure to carry out or participate in health campaigns at their practice sites, in local communities or even on a national level. DICAM is an awareness campaign that all dental practices should participate in.

Autumn is a reminder to all dental professionals that infection control is a vital component of safe dental care. Launched by the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP), this September marks the 3^rd annual DICAM.¹ The goals of Dental Infection Control Awareness Month are to reinforce the new CDC information, support the infection control coordinator and build patients’ trust in infection control.²

How can dental practices encourage infection control awareness? OSAP outlines three strategies to promote infection control in September.² The first is to ensure and implement the CDC’s Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care and Companion Checklist. In March 2016, the CDC released this document as a companion to the CDC’s 2003 Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings.  The 2016 release is a 41-page document, downloadable and easy to read, that provides key recommendations for each of the elements needed to prevent transmission of infectious agents in dental settings.³ Every dental practice should have a copy of this document to review with their teams and implement the necessary steps needed for safe staff and patient care related to infection prevention. The companion checklists are an outstanding way to complete a self-check or self-audit on compliance to the guidelines. As a continuous quality improvement plan, practices should use the checklists to gather baseline data on the various infection prevention elements and then determine what improvements must be implemented.

A second strategy for DICAM is to champion the practice’s infection control coordinator (ICC). Both OSHA and the CDC state it is essential that at least one individual trained in infection control be assigned in the dental practice.^3,4 Some duties of the ICC are bulleted below, but this is not an all-inclusive list⁵:

• Lead in policy development, implementation and monitoring and review and update written policies, SOPs, procedures and other documents; use credible sources (e.g., CDC, OSHA, EPA); assess expected outcomes.

• Maintain relevant regulatory and guidance documents and make sure these are available to all personnel (e.g., Bloodborne Pathogens Standard; Personal Protective Equipment (general requirements)).

• Maintain current related permits, licenses and other documents (e.g., training, sterilization, medical and other records and logs).

• Generate/update/maintain logs of other safety-related records (e.g., manifests from medical waste haulers and radiographic equipment certifications).

• Act as a resource on infection control/prevention for the team or organization.

• Provide infection control and OSHA-mandated training and education.

• Monitor compliance through observation, sterilization logs, checklists and other methods.

• Confirm that employee immunizations are current, and that supplies/equipment and ordering systems are in place.

Since this staff member has such a large responsibility for managing and oversight of the infection control and safety program of the practice, it is imperative that he or she not only have the training, but also a desire to fulfill this role; practices should not randomly assign a staff member as the ICC.

A third strategy to promote infection control awareness is to build patient trust. OSAP suggests that practices educate patients about what the practice is doing to protect them.  “Clinicians don’t usually bring it up, and patients may be too shy to ask, so use Dental Infection Control Awareness Month as a neutral conversation starter for showcasing your infection control and safety practices”.² OSAP has sample scripts, letters and brochures that can be used to showcase a commitment to infection control. Simple actions, such as opening sterilized pouches in front of the patient and stating that instrument sterilization is something the practice takes seriously to ensure safety for each and every patient, is an example of promoting the work being done to reinforce compliance to infection prevention principals.

And, of course, social media is another way to show the practice’s commitment to DICAM.⁶  OSAP has a list of resources that are available for practice websites, including selfie signs, hashtags, sample Facebook posts and tweets, which can be found at https://www.osap.org/page/DICAMSocialMediaTool?. There is also a DICAM web button, which can be downloaded to announce Dental Infection Control Awareness Month on a website and reinforce participation in this patient-oriented campaign.⁶   Lastly, there is a poster that can be used in the practice reception area to demonstrate the commitment to dental infection control.⁷

Dental infection control is the foundation to providing safe care to patients and maintaining staff safety. At times federal standards, agency guidelines and professional best practices seem cumbersome and overwhelming, but put into an organized program with definitive steps, compliance can be achieved. As the leaves begin to fall, September is a great time to promote dental infection control awareness and focus on these protocols and procedures to ensure that in all practice settings, infection prevention is a priority.

References

1. Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention. Dental infection control awareness month. Available at https://www.osap.org/general/custom.asp?page=DICAM. Accessed July 8, 2018.
2. Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention. Dental infection control awareness month. Available at https://www.osap.org/general/custom.asp?page=DICAMDentalPractices. Accessed July 8, 2018.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Oral Health, March 2016.
4. United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Bloodborne Pathogens. Available at https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=10051&p_table=STANDARDS. Accessed July 9, 2018.
5. Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention. Dental infection control awareness month. Available at https://www.osap.org/page/RoleofICPC?. Accessed July 9, 2018.
6. Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention. Dental infection control awareness month. Available at https://www.osap.org/page/DICAMSocialMediaTool?.  Accessed July 10, 2018.
7. Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention. Dental infection control awareness month. Available at https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.osap.org/resource/resmgr/dicam2017/OSAP_DICAM_Poster_FINAL.pdf. Accessed July 10, 2018.

Editor’s note: Dr. Katherine Schrubbe, RDH, BS, M.Ed, PhD, is an independent compliance consultant with expertise in OSHA, dental infection control, quality assurance and risk management.  She is an invited speaker for continuing education and training programs for local and national dental organizations, schools of dentistry and private dental groups. She has held positions in corporate as well as academic dentistry and continues to contribute to the scientific literature. Dr. Schrubbe can be reached at [email protected].