The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way we approach infection control in the dental world. Prior to COVID, we really were only concerned about infection control as it related to the transfer of blood and other potentially infectious materials.
We had not been too concerned about diseases that were transmitted through the air we breathe. We had experienced other emerging diseases like the original SARS, MERS, Ebola, and variants of influenza, but their impact was nowhere near the impact of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The last pandemic that affected the world on this scale was the Spanish Flu in 1918, which killed over 675,000 in the U. S. and over 50 million worldwide.
We tried to take what we learned in dealing with bloodborne pathogens and apply it to COVID-19, the difference was that we have to now consider every person as a potential carrier of the disease and that simply coughing or sneezing could transfer the disease, rather than just from items that had been in the mouth. Every encounter with another person could pose a risk of contracting the disease. Infection control has to apply to all areas of the work and work environment.
No OSHA regulation specifically covers protecting workers from COVID-19. Using the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard is a good framework, but employers have to figure out the best way to protect workers from an airborne transmissible disease, so the Personal Protective Equipment Standard and the Respiratory Protection Standard are very important in determining the best way to prevent infection.
The CDC Guidelines for Dentistry are more agile to change than OSHA standards, so using the guidelines provides the most current approach to good infection control procedures.
Combining an OSHA compliant Exposure Control Plan and an Infectious Disease Plan - Preparedness and Response Plan can provide a workplace with an effective infection control program for the “new normal”. COVID-19 has forced the dental world to rethink infection control and it will have a continuing impact on how we keep workplaces safe now and in the future.
The SafeLink online course entitled, Dental Laboratory Infection Control in the New Normal is an excellent resource for understanding the impact of COVID-19 on infection control in the dental laboratory.
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