CDC_GuideDentalSettingsThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care.

The new CDC summary addresses fundamental elements needed to prevent transmission of infectious agents, key CDC recommendations, and current CDC recommendations from the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health Care Settings—2003. In addition, the summary includes recommendations and information published since 2003 and assessment checklists to evaluate prevention practices.

In conjunction with the release of the CDC summary, the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has created an array of tools and resources, available on their website, that are specifically designed to help dental teams understand and comply with the CDC guidelines. These resources include:

  • From Policy to Practice: OSAP’s Interactive Guide to the CDC Guidelines, a free online course with seven modules that break the guidelines down into easily understood principles.
  • CDC Guidelines: From Policy to Practice by OSAP, a self-study workbook that walks users through the CDC guidelines. Each chapter contains practical how-to instructions, charts and checklists, pictures and captions, answers to common questions, and guidance for making sound clinical judgments.
  • OSHA & CDC Guidelines: Interact Training System, a program that combines requirements for OSHA annual training with the CDC guidelines.
  • OSAP Dental Infection Control Educators’ & Trainers’ Toolkit, a coaching workbook delivered via CD designed to assist with the development, planning, and promotion of successful, high-impact infection control and safety programs and presentations.