About the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health Care Settings—2003

Guidelines may be defined as “documents that contain recommendations about health interventions, whether they be clinical, public health, or policy recommendations. Recommendations provide information about what policy makers, health care providers, or patients should do. Recommendations imply choices between different interventions that have an impact on health and that have ramifications for the use of resources.”

CDC develops guidelines and recommendations to improve the effectiveness and impact of public health interventions and inform key audiences, such as clinicians, public health practitioners, and the public.

CDC’s Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health Care Settings—2003 were developed by CDC in collaboration with other authorities on infection control to provide dental health care personnel overall guidance on infection prevention practices. These guidelines describe the minimum standard of practice recommended for safe care in all dental settings. Some infection prevention and control practices, however, are mandated by federal, state, or local regulations.

Resources

CDC. Guidelines for Isolation Precautions in Hospitals. Hospital Infection Control Advisory Committee 1996, CDC Wonder Archives website  https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/p0000419/p0000419.asp. Accessed June 19, 2018.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. All About OSHA. OSHA-3302-11R. Washington, DC: US Department of Labor; 2016. https://www.osha.gov/Publications/all_about_OSHA.pdf [PDF – 711KB]. Published 2016. Accessed June 19, 2018.

US Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 29 CFR Part 1910.1030. Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; needlesticks and other sharps injuries; final rule. Federal Register. 2001;66:5317–5325. As amended from and includes 29 CFR Part 1910.1030. Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; final rule. Federal Register. 1991;56:64174–64182. https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10051. Accessed June 21, 2018.

World Health Organization. WHO Handbook for Guideline Development. Second Edition. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. 2014. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241548960. Accessed June 19, 2018.