Dental CE Course: Instrument Recycling for Infection Control

Largely in response to the AIDS epidemic, infection control in dentistry has received a lot more attention, and rightly so. From the 1950's through the 1970's, most practicing dentists subscribed to a philosophy that all but ignored the hazards associated with infectious diseases, as we extolled the concept of the "wet fingered environment." But AIDS is not the only concern. Dental personnel and dental patients are at an increased risk of exposure to several bloodborne and airborne diseases, including Hepatitis B (HBV), and Hepatitis C (HCV) and tuberculosis.Dental personnel have an obligation to protect themselves and their patients from unnecessary exposure to disease-causing organisms. When processing contaminated dental instruments, the risk of exposure becomes more urgent. This course gives you the knowledge you need to help you keep a disease-free office with respect to instrument recycling. Some of the topics it discusses are assessing the risk of hepatitis and AIDS transmission in dental offices, designing a centralized instrument processing area, safely handling and properly decontaminating dental instruments, maintaining compatibility of sterilizing procedures, and evaluating different types of sterilization.