 CDC
Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental
Health Care Settings—2003
This report consolidates previous recommendations and adds new ones
for infection control in dental settings. Recommendations are provided
regarding 1) educating and protecting dental health-care personnel;
2) preventing transmission of bloodborne pathogens; 3) hand hygiene;
4) personal protective equipment; 5) contact dermatitis and latex
hypersensitivity; 6) sterilization and disinfection of patient-care
items; 7) environmental infection control; 8) dental unit waterlines,
biofilm, and water quality; and 9) special considerations (e.g.,
dental handpieces and other devices, radiology, parenteral medications,
oral surgical procedures, and dental laboratories). These recommendations
were developed in collaboration with and after review by authorities
on infection control from CDC and other public agencies, academia,
and private and professional organizations.
- CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental
Health Care Settings—2003 | PDF
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ADA
Roadmap to CDC Guidelines for Infection
Control in Dental Health-Care Settings
Itinerary. This Roadmap will lead you through the
new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Guidelines for Infection Control in
Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003. The CDC published the Guidelines
in December 2003 in the official publication known as the Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report ( MMWR ) .
In addition, the CDC is mailing a copy
of the 2003 CDC Guidelines to all practicing
dentists.
What to Expect. The new Guidelines replace the
version published by the CDC in 1993. Much of what they contain is
the same. However, there have been a few important changes based
on advances in infection control knowledge and technology over the
last 10 years. This is what to expect:
- The Guidelines are comprehensive. The
new Guidelines incorporate relevant recommendations
that were previously scattered throughout
several other CDC publications. An example
is the hand hygiene recommendations, which
CDC published as a separate document last
year. Another example is the CDC's recommendations
for preventing needlesticks in healthcare
settings. The CDC has adapted these in
the new Guidelines specifically to dental
settings.
- The Guidelines are in two parts. Part
I is a comprehensive review
of the science related to dental infection
control and is by far the largest part
of the Guidelines.
Part
II is
the CDC's recommended infection control
practices for dental offices. Most of
these recommendations will be familiar
to you from previous CDC and ADA publications.
Examples are the routine use of personal
protective equipment, such as gowns,
gloves, masks and/or protective eyewear;
and hepatitis B immunization of every
dental care worker exposed to potentially
infectious materials.
- The Guidelines update and review previous
CDC recommendations in some areas. An
example is cleaning and disinfecting clinical
contact surfaces.
- The Guidelines include several new recommendations.
Perhaps the most significant are in the
area of maintaining dental unit water quality.
- The recommendations in Part II are categorized
based on the strength of the scientific
evidence supporting their use. They range
from practices that are strongly recommended
and supported by well-designed experimental,
clinical, or epidemiologic studies to recommendations
that are simply suggested for implementation
based on a theoretical rationale.
Topics Covered in Part II. Recommendations
Below is a list of topics covered in Part II. Recommendations
of the CDC Guidelines. Most of these topics will be very
familiar to you. A few are new to the
CDC's recommendations for dentistry or have been modified.
One or two are completely new. We have marked with an asterisk
(*) those
topics that may involve the most significant changes in your
current office procedures. Links are provided to existing articles,
statements and other resources on these topics. Keep checking
this site for updates.
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The Journal of the American Dental Association
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Additional
Resources
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