With the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients continue to be reluctant to visit dental offices. Over 10% of patients – both adults and children – have delayed health care, including dental care, despite admitting the need for care.
Oral care, like most other major disciplines, finds itself navigating the uncharted waters resulting from the COVID-19 global health emergency.
The pandemic has greatly affected the way in which dentistry is practiced, placing an even greater emphasis on infection prevention and control protocols as a means of minimizing disruptions in care delivery.
Technological innovation can be an effective solution here.
Now that the CDC aggregates and reports COVID-related hospitalizations instead of COVID transmissions, dental professionals could be at risk. By the time a dental practice is alerted to a COVID outbreak in their area, transmissions could already be at concerning levels.
Routine sterilizer efficacy monitoring is a critical element of your practice’s infection prevention and control protocol. Steam sterilization is, of course, a routine part of instrument reprocessing, and it’s important to ensure your sterilizer is functioning properly for every load. As a result, there are certain steps you should be taking monthly, daily, and per each load to achieve sterility assurance.
Hand hygiene has always been a critical part of infection prevention in health care settings, and the experience of living and working through a pandemic has only underscored its importance. However, despite the extra attention on infection prevention, the CDC reports that, “on average healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should.”
Students at dental, dental hygiene, and dental assisting schools have very full plates. Whether in the classroom or in-clinic, there is a lot to learn in a relatively short amount of time. But one area where dental students sometimes get a break is in instrument reprocessing.
At this time last year, we were all collectively reeling from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and dealing with the confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety of managing a new virus. And, in the midst of an unprecedented shutdown that nearly ground dentistry to a complete halt, practices pivoted on the fly to implement new infection prevention and control procedures that would enable them to continue practicing safely.
Have you thanked a dental assistant lately? Now’s your chance. The American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) dubbed the first full week of March “Dental Assistants Recognition Week.”
Of course, dental assistants have earned our gratitude all year round. Dental assistants are the hardworking heroes who keep practices running smoothly and patients happy.
By Marie T. Fluent, DDS
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