Infection and exposure control in North American dental schools.
The results of a survey sent to all U.S. and Canadian dental schools clearly indicate that several substantial changes have occurred in infection control and exposure control in the past fifteen to twenty years. Predominant among these are that the responsibility for instrument preparation and sterilization in most schools has passed from the student to trained staff, the routine practice of universal precautions has eliminated the need to treat patients known to carry bloodborne diseases in a special area, and pre-admission and enrollment vaccination and health screening requirements have changed significantly. Other important changes result from the fact that the majority of U.S. schools responding to the survey are now, to a great extent, in compliance with the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard or equivalent requirements.
Division of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA. elise.sampson@marquette.edu
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D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D002170:Canada; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D014481:United States; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration / Q000592:standards; D016635:Universal Precautions; D014611:Vaccination; D014871:Water Microbiology