Most dental professionals are aware that the OSHA Blood-borne Pathogens Standard have initial dental infection control training of new dental employees as a requirement. Any health facility is also required to facilitate annual dental infection control training for its employees. Numerous resources can be used for learning purposes online and even live in meetings and in-office. You can find dental infection control training courses on CD, DVD and in print. However, all these resources may not be compliant to OSHA requirements, which means before you get started with the dental infection control training, you have to verify course compliance.

It is recommended that you select a course that is specifically targeted to dental care. Do background research on the authors and presenters of the dental infection control training you are considering. The authors of the course and the presenters should have some experience in dentistry before you can consider using the course. Check if they have contributed to publications in dental journals and magazines so that you can use it to gauge their expertise and experience before you allow your employees to go through dental infection control training. You should also find out if the course authors and presenters have some affiliation with any specific product manufacturer or company. If they have such an affiliation, then the trainees should be made aware of the affiliation and how this can bring bias towards specific services or products.

When checking for the content for your employee dental infection control training, they must be compliant with the following OSHA requirements. The dental infection control training content should have a regulatory text that states its standard as well as a brief explanation of the contents. There should also be a professional explanation of symptoms of bloodborne diseases and epidemiology. The modes of transmission of bloodborne diseases should also be covered during dental infection control training. The employer’s exposure and how the employee can get a written plan of how this is done should also be explained. Dental infection control training should also cover the most suitable methods that are used to recognize tasks and activities involving exposure to infectious materials, substances, and body fluids like blood.

Effective dental infection control training should have clear explanations on the utilization as well as limitations of methods that can reduce or even prevent exposure. That may include proper engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and work practices. The dental infection control training should have comprehensive information on the types, location, adequate use, removal, decontamination, handling, and safe disposal of personal protective gear and equipment. At the end of the dental infection control training, the employees should also have learned the basis of selecting their protective gear.

The dental infection control training should also be comprehensive enough to cover hepatitis B vaccination, its efficacy, method of administration, safety, and its benefits. The dental infection control training content should also include the most recommended actions and measures that you can use in case of an emergency that makes the employees handle blood or other materials that could be infectious. Post-exposure evaluation should also be explained to the trainees. Dental infection control training should be interactive, and trainees should feel free to ask questions.

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