How to Prevent Cross-Contamination in a Dental Office

Cross-contamination in the dental office is very preventable and extremely important. Dental employees and patients can be exposed to carrier-transmitted diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and the human immunodeficiency virus if proper precautions are not taken. The most common route for microorganisms from a patient's mouth to be passed to the dental team is through direct contact -- or by touching a patient's blood or saliva. However, cross-contamination also can occur through indirect contact, in which a dental team member touches a contaminated surface or instrument.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Gowns
• Masks
• Goggles
• Surface barriers
• Surface disinfectant
• Sterilization packages
• Ultrasonic cleaner
• Autoclave
• Liquid soap
• Alcohol-based hand rubs

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Instructions

• 1

  Wear personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, masks and goggles when involved in clinical patient procedures, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Blood-borne Pathogens Standard. Also, use personal protective equipment during any activity in which you come into contact with patient secretions, such as when you are processing dental radiographs or handling laboratory cases. Avoid touching clean surfaces such as door knobs with dirty gloves.

• 2

  Place impermeable surface barriers on dental operatory furniture such as dental chairs. Cover the chair's back and chair arms as well as operatory light handles and the high-volume evacuator handle. Discard used barriers with the office waste, wipe down furniture surfaces using a surface disinfectant and put on new barriers to avoid transmitting previous patients' fluids to new patients.

• 3

  Place all contaminated instruments in the contaminated area of the sterilization lab. Keep this instrument-processing area physically separate from the dental operatories and make sure it is not a part of a common walkway.

• 4

  Designate a separate area of your sterilization lab specifically for sterilized instruments. Do not put dirty instruments in this area, as unsterilized and sterilized instruments should never be stored in the same area. Even if they are pre-cleaned by hand, unsterilized instruments still harbor pathogens.

• 5

  Wash your hands before and after gloving and if you inadvertently touch contaminated objects or surfaces while barehanded. Use liquid soap instead of bar soap during hand washing because bar soap can transmit contamination easily. Also, use hands-free faucets that are activated electronically or with foot pedals if possible. Consider using alcohol-based hand rubs if your hands are not soiled, as these products actually are more effective than plain soap.