Best Practices in Dental Infection Prevention and Control

At a glance

These best practices provide information on a range of topics relevant to clinical dentistry.

Dental health care personnel donning gloves.

Overview

More about the information presented can be found in the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003, the Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care, and other CDC guidelines.

These guidelines are applicable wherever dental care is provided. This includes traditional settings such as private dental practices, dental clinics, dental schools and educational programs (including dental assisting, dental hygiene, and laboratory), as well as nontraditional settings that often use portable dental equipment, such as clinics held in schools for sealant and fluoride placement and in other sites for humanitarian dental missions.

Reminder‎

CDC does not have regulatory authority that extends to the enforcement of infection prevention and control in dental health care settings. Dental health care personnel should be aware that other local, territorial, tribal, state, and federal requirements may apply, including those promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. CDC recommends that you consult with your state dental board or other regulating agency for requirements specific to your jurisdiction.

Why is infection prevention and control important?

Following recommended infection prevention and control procedures can prevent transmission of infectious organisms among patients and dental health care personnel.

This video, from CDC's Foundations: Building the Safest Dental Visit training, shows how both patients and dental health care personnel can be exposed to a variety of infections during dental treatment.

Resources

Five silver dental handpieces.

Best Practices for Dental Handpieces

Details the risks of improperly reprocessing dental handpieces and how to reprocess them correctly.
Black background with a silver dental handpiece spraying water.

Best Practices for Dental Unit Water Quality

Informs about monitoring, treating, maintaining dental waterlines and the risks if left untreated.
A dental operatory.

Best Practices for Environmental Infection Prevention and Control

Provides guidance on how to clean and disinfect environmental surfaces.
Six silver elevators used for extractions of teeth.

Best Practices for Handling Extracted Teeth

Details guidelines for handling extracted teeth and how to dispose of teeth containing amalgam.
Dental health care personnel with blood on their fingertip.

Best Practices for Occupational Exposure to Blood

Details risks, prevention, and post-exposure protocol for occupational exposures to blood.

Best Practices for Oral Surgical Procedures

Details the risks related to oral surgical procedures and guidance to minimize these risks.
Dental health care personnel wearing a pink disposable protective gown, blue gloves, a white surgical mask, and purple goggles.

Best Practices for Personal Protective Equipment

Inform dental staff about the proper PPE to protect them from exposure with infectious agents.
A silver dental syringe.

Best Practices for Safe Injections

Details CDC’s setting-specific recommendations for safe injection practices.

Best Practices for Single-Use (Disposable) Devices

Details what single-use devices are and how to dispose of them.

Best Practices for Sterilization in Dental Settings

Details steps for reprocessing instruments to ensure safe reuse of contaminated patient-care items.

Best Practices for Sterilization Monitoring in Dental Settings

Details the types of sterilization monitoring and what to include in equipment maintenance records. ...

Additional resources

Leadership, Accountability, Expertise circle graphic

Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship

Key principles to guide efforts to improve antibiotic use, patient safety and outcomes.
Animated GIF: Clean Hands Count www.cdc.gov/Clean-Hands

About Hand Hygiene for Patients in Healthcare Settings

Hand hygiene - Basic information on hand hygiene in healthcare for a general audience.

Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

See infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance and practices for healthcare personnel when cari...

Preventing Transmission of Viral Respiratory Pathogens in Healthcare Settings

Infection control measures to prevent all viral respiratory infections in healthcare settings.
Print
Content Source:
Infection Prevention & Control in Dental Settings; Division of Oral Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion