Many dental care professionals are at risk for occupational exposure to a variety of hazardous chemicals and situations. Being unaware of the potential hazards in the work environment makes them more vulnerable to injury. The following references aid in recognizing, controlling and preventing hazards in the workplace.

Beryllium

• Preventing Adverse Health Effects From Exposure to Beryllium in Dental Laboratories. OSHA Health Information Bulletin (HIB), (2002, April 19 - Revised May 2002). Also available as a 42 KB PDF, 9 pages. Provides information on the ways in which beryllium exposures can be reduced, the type of protective equipment which can be worn to reduce exposure, and on the type of medical surveillance procedures that can be used to identify workers who may be sensitized to beryllium, or who may be in the early stages of CBD.
  
  
• Beryllium. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.

Bloodborne Pathogens and Infection Control

• ADA Statement on Infection Control in Dentistry. American Dental Association (ADA), (2004, March).
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Dental Infection Control. Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures (OSAP). Provides commonly asked questions and answers about infection control in the dental industry. This page also provides a search option.
  
  
• Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings - 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2003, December 19;52(RR17):1-61. Consolidates previous recommendations and adds new ones for infection control in dental settings.
  
  
• Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides link to general information on a wide variety of common and unusual bacteria, fungi, and viruses during course of receiving medical care.
  
  
• Immunization of Health-Care Personnel: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2011, November 25; 60 (RR07): 1-45. Summarizes recommendations of the ACIP concerning vaccinating health-care personnel (HCP), and assists hospital administrators, infection-control practitioners, employee health clinicians, and HCP in optimizing infection prevention and control programs.
  
  
• Influenza Vaccination Information for Health Care Workers. Provides healthcare workers with basic information on influenza, current influenza vaccines, and the benefits of vaccination.
  
  
• Model Plans and Programs for the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Hazard Communications Standards. OSHA Publication 3186, (2003). Also available as a 521 KB PDF, 29 pages. Offers assistance to dentists and dental employees involved in clinical procedures in understanding and complying with OSHA standard for Bloodborne Pathogens, 29 CFR 1910.1030.
  
  
• Notice to Readers: Updated Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Control and Elimination of Mumps. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2006, June 9; 55(22): 629-30. Recommends all persons who work in health-care facilities should be immune to mumps. Adequate mumps vaccination for health-care workers born during or after 1957 consists of 2 doses of a live mumps virus vaccine.
  
  
• Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings - 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides the CDC's Oral Health Resources site for infection control in dentistry. This 108 slide set with accompanying speaker notes is available for download or viewing online and can be used for education and training of dental staff (initial and periodic training).
  • Device Screening and Evaluation Forms. (2007, April 26). Provides a collection of forms made available for general use to help increase the safety of both dental personnel and their patients. Forms are available in PDF and HTML formats.
  • Frequently Asked Questions. (2006, July 15). Provides answers to common questions about infection control in dental settings.
    
    
• Policy Statement on Bloodborne Pathogens, Infection Control and the Practice of Dentistry. American Dental Association (ADA), (2005, March 15). Addresses bloodborne pathogens, infection control and the practice of dentistry, and is reviewed and modified on a regular basis as scientific knowledge of bloodborne pathogen transmission and prevention in heath care settings evolves.
  
  
• Recommended Infection-Control Practices for Dentistry, 1993. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 1993, May 28;42(RR-8). Also available as a 148 KB PDF, 20 pages. Offers guidance to reduce the risk of disease transmission among dental health care workers and their patients. This previous recommendation was consolidated into the 2003 guidelines.
  
  
• Reducing Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure in Dentistry: An Update. Cal/OSHA Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Provides information about engineering controls and exposure control plan requirements for dental offices.
  
  
• Bloodborne Infectious Diseases: HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C – Safer Medical Device Implementation in Health Care Facilities. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic. Assists health care facilities that are working through the process of implementing safer needle devices into their workplaces.
  
  
• Updated U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines for the Management of Occupational Exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and Recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2001, June 29;50(RR11):1-42. Includes the latest CDC recommendations.
  
  
• Updated U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines for the Management of Occupational Exposures to HIV and Recommendations for Postexposure Prophylaxis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2005, September 30;54(RR09):1-17. Modifies and expands the list of antiretroviral medications that can be considered for use as postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). This report also emphasizes prompt management of occupational exposures, selection of tolerable regimens, attention to potential drug interactions involving drugs that could be included in HIV PEP regimens and other medications, consultation with experts for postexposure management strategies (especially determining whether an exposure has actually occurred) and selection of HIV PEP regimens, use of HIV rapid testing, and counseling and follow-up of exposed personnel.
  
  
• For additional information, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages on:
  • Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
  • Eye and Face Protection

Ergonomics

• Health and Wellness: Ergonomics. American Dental Association (ADA). Contains links and information on fitness and conditioning, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), ADA/OSHA Alliance and OSHA Resources, ADA seminar series programs on ergonomics, and additional resources.
  
  
• Ergonomics for Dental Students [231 KB PDF, 4 pages]. American Dental Association (ADA), (2011). A brief primer on ergonomics for dental students, but applies to all dental office personnel.
  
  
• Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA)
  • Rising, David W., DMD and  Bradford C. Bennett, PhD, et. al. "Reports of body pain in a dental student population." 2005;136(1):81-6.
  • Valachi, Bethany, MS, PT, CEAS and Keith Valachi, DDS. "Preventing musculoskeletal disorders in clinical dentistry." 2003;134(12):1604-12.
  • Valachi, Bethany, MS, PT, CEAS and Keith Valachi, DDS. "Mechanisms leading to musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry." 2003;134(10):1344-50.
    
    
• Dental Hygienists at Risk for CTS. Ergonomics Today, (2002, September 18). Ergonomic news regarding the incidence of carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) in dental hygienists.
  
  
• Ergonomics. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.

Silica Dust

• What Dental Technicians Need To Know About Silicosis [114 KB PDF, 2 pages]. New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Occupational Health Surveillance Program. Provides an informational brochure about the hazards associated with exposures to silica.
  
  
• Silica. OSHA eTool. Assists in determining silica exposure, obtaining a measure of the silica concentration, and provides instruction on protective measures.
  
  
• Silica, Crystalline. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.

Waste Anesthetic Gases

• OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (1999, January 20).
  • Hospital Investigations: Health Hazards. Deals briefly with the hazards of anesthetic agents in the hospital setting and provides control measures to decrease these hazards.
  • Chemical Agents. Lists adverse health effects of waste anesthetic gases.
    
    
• NIOSH Warns: Nitrous Oxide Continues to Threaten Health Care Workers. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-118, (1994, June 14). Provides a brief update of the hazards of exposure to nitrous oxide (N2O), including steps for prevention. Presents control measures for preventing or greatly reducing exposure to N20 during the administration of anesthetic gas.
  
  
• NIOSH Alert: Controlling Exposures to Nitrous Oxide During Anesthetic Administration. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-100, (1994). Concludes that exposure to N20 causes decreases in mental performance, audiovisual ability, and manual dexterity and that adverse reproductive effects may also result from chronic exposure to N20.
  
  
• Control of Nitrous Oxide in Dental Operatories. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-107, Hazard Control HC3, (1998). Presents NIOSH research that shows controls including system maintenance, ventilation, and operations. Includes step-by-step approach to controlling N2O exposure.
  
  
• Analyzing Workplace Exposures Using Direct Reading Instruments and Video Exposure Monitoring Techniques. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 92-104, (1992, August). Contains case studies describing a variety of circumstances where the video exposure monitoring techniques provided useful information not obtainable by integrated sampling.
  • Case Study E: Dental Administration of Nitrous Oxide. Analyzes workplace exposures to waste nitrous oxide during dental procedures
    
    
• Nitrous Oxide in Workplace Atmospheres (Passive Monitor). OSHA Inorganic Method ID-166, (revised 1994, May). Describes the sample collection of airborne nitrous oxide (N2O). There is sufficient concern to warrant positive steps to control the airborne levels of N2O in workplaces, such as medical, dental and veterinary facilities.
  
  
• Nitrous Oxide. OSHA/NIOSH/DOE Occupational Safety and Health Guideline.
  
  
• For additional information, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Page on Waste Anesthetic Gases.

Recordkeeping

• OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping. OSHA's rule addressing the recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses affects approximately 1.4 million establishments. The data collected by this rule aids employers, employees and compliance officers in analyzing the safety and health environment at the employer's establishment and is the source of information for the OSHA Data Initiative (ODI) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Annual Survey.
  
  
• Recordkeeping: It's new, it's improved, and it's easier. OSHA Publication No. 3169, (2001). Summarizes the Recordkeeping rule, and provides access to Form 300, 301, and 301A. Identifies SIC code 802, Offices and Clinics of Dentists, as an establishments classified as partially exempt from most of the recordkeeping requirements, regardless of size.
  
  
• 29 CFR 1904.39. OSHA Standard. Provides phone numbers to report fatalities or imminent life-threatening situation, as well as to report accidents, unsafe conditions or other safety and health violations.

General

• Compliance Assistance/Outreach. This page provides resources to help employers comply with and workers understand OSHA requirements and learn about OSHA's cooperative programs.
  
  
• For additional information on general safety and health concerns, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages on:
  • Biological Agents
    
  • Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
    
  • Computer Workstations
    
  • Eye and Face Protection
    
  • Hazard Communication
    
  • Hazardous Drugs
    
  • Healthcare
    
  • Latex Allergy
    
  • Occupational Asthma
    
  • Reproductive Hazards
    
  • Respiratory Protection
    
  • Ventilation
    
  • Waste Anesthetic Gases
    
  • Workplace Violence

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