hand hygiene
By Paul Alper
Hand Hygiene Best Practices for Dental Offices in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Over the past year we have provided up-to-date best practices for hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic for acute-cute and long-term care settings . This month we will address an important setting , the professional dental practice , where persistent vigilance is also essential to ensure patients ’ and dental professionals ’ safety .
Proper hand hygiene is an effective way to help prevent the spread of infection between patients and dental professionals during both routine procedures and more invasive oral surgeries . The best way to help ensure that your team knows and follows proper hand hygiene practices is to provide effective ongoing education and training .
What does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), American Dental Association ( ADA ) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) say about Hand Hygiene in the Context of COVID-19 in Dental Offices ? Table 1 below explains it all in detail .
Table 1 : Summary of guidance statements regarding placement of soap and alcohol-based handrub dispensers ( ABHR ) and personal carry-size ABHR in dental offices
Click to
View Distilling the guidance down to a holistic hand hygiene
approach for any dental practice , here is a practical guide for when to perform hand hygiene within a dental practice . We have included a table identifying each distinct area within a practice and what the optimized hand hygiene solution might look like in terms of product and dispensing system . Each is based on the latest CDC , ADA and OSHA guidance :
All staff should be trained on the WHO 5 moments for hand hygiene as well as how to both properly sanitize hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wash with soap and water . While the WHO 5 moments for hand hygiene are most commonly cited in the context of the hospital or post-acute setting , they are equally relevant to dental practices . Dental professionals should perform hand hygiene : ●Before and after treating a patient ●After putting on , touching , or removing Personal Protective
Equipment ( PPE ) or face coverings ●After handling personal devices such as cell phone , tablet , or computer keyboards ●Before and after personal tasks such as before eating and after using the restroom ; taking breaks ●After touching surfaces or instruments in treatment areas with bare hands ●Anytime hands are visibly soiled or may have come into contact with blood or body fluids ●Before and after oral surgery procedures ●Before leaving the practice post shift
Table 2 : What hand hygiene product and delivery systems should be used and where ?
Practice Area
Entryway
Check-in desk
Exam Room
Oral Surgery Room
Restroom
Additional rooms
Check-out area
Personal Carry Size to Ensure Compliance .
* Automatic or manual as preferred
Hand Hygiene Solution ( product + dispensing system )
● Automatic dispenser on a stand , or wall mounted dispenser * with alcohol-based hand sanitizer ( minimum 60 % ethyl alcohol )
● Automatic dispenser on a stand with alcohol-based hand sanitizer OR a table-top pump bottle of alcohol based hand sanitizer on desk / counter
● Wall mounted dispenser * with alcohol-based hand sanitizer outside the room
● Wall mounted soap ** dispenser * next to sink ( if sink is present ).
● Alcohol based sanitizing wipes in a canister for patient use OPTIONAL
● Wall mounted automatic dispenser with alcohol-based surgical rub
● OR Wall mounted automatic dispenser with chlorhexidine gluconate ( CHG ) -based surgical hand soap near sink
● Wall mounted soap ** dispenser ( s )* at sink ( s )
● OR , If wall mounting is not an option , table top soap ** in pump bottles should be available .
● Wall mounted dispenser * with alcohol-based hand sanitizer near exit door
● Also suggest hand towel dispenser near exit door to enable no contact with door upon exit
● Automatic dispenser with alcohol-based hand sanitizer on a stand , or wall mounted dispenser * with alcohol-based hand sanitizer
● OR , If wall mounting is inconvenient , table top pump bottles of alcohol based hand sanitizer should be available
● Soap ** dispenser ( s )* if sink ( s ) is / are present
● Alcohol based sanitizing wipes OPTIONAL
● Automatic dispenser on a stand , or wall mounted dispenser * with alcohol-based hand sanitizer
● OR , table-top pump bottles with alcohol-based hand sanitizer on desk / counter if wall mounting is inconvenient and space is too tight for stands
Consider providing 2-4 ounce size personal carry size bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitizer ( or small packets , such as 20 count , of hand sanitizer wipes ) to all staff with the training that hand hygiene should take place using wall mounted dispensers when convenient , but when not , to use the personal carry size .
41