Module 1: Practical Infection Prevention for Dental Teams

Effective infection prevention is essential to providing safe, high-quality dental care. Every member of the dental team plays a role in reducing the risk of disease transmission, protecting patients and coworkers, and maintaining compliance with current infection prevention recommendations and regulatory requirements. Establishing consistent infection prevention practices not only helps create a safer clinical environment but also supports the long-term success of your practice. 

In this course, you'll explore the fundamental principles of infection prevention and how they apply in the dental setting. You'll learn how infectious diseases spread, examine the standard precautions used to reduce transmission, and discover best practices for hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, sharps safety, environmental infection control, instrument processing, and dental water quality. You'll also learn about common infectious diseases encountered in dentistry, antibiotic stewardship, and the key components of an effective infection prevention program. 

Whether you're a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, office manager, or other dental professional, this course will provide a practical foundation for implementing infection prevention practices that promote a safe environment for both patients and the dental team.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, you'll be able to: 

• Explain the role of infection prevention in protecting patients, dental personnel, and the overall safety of a dental practice. 
  
• Identify the regulations, guidelines, and core principles that support infection prevention in dental healthcare settings. 
• Describe how infectious diseases are transmitted and apply standard and transmission-based precautions to reduce the risk of disease transmission. 
• Implement best practices for hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, personal protective equipment, sharps safety, and safe clinical workflows. 
• Apply appropriate procedures for instrument processing, sterilization, environmental infection control, and dental unit waterline management. 
• Recognize common bloodborne, airborne, droplet, contact, and waterborne pathogens of concern in dental healthcare settings and describe strategies for reducing occupational exposure. 
• Explain the importance of antibiotic stewardship and its role in preventing antibiotic resistance. 
• Describe the key components of an infection prevention program, including written policies, staff training, documentation, and continuous program evaluation.