Ask practitioners in your area and fellow members of your local component society for recommendations. Visit the labs in your area to observe the quality of their work and choose the lab with which you feel the most comfortable.
4. How do I select a dental lab?
A detailed list of regulations for staff members, including expanded function dental assistants and hygienists, is available from the State Board of Dentistry. To view click here. The regulations list every procedure done in the office and identify which personnel are qualified to perform them.
5. Which tasks can members of the dental team legally perform in the office?
Hazardous waste must be collected in an approved hazardous waste disposal container and must be picked up by a registered waste disposal company. For a discussion on what constitutes a hazardous waste, go to www.depweb.state.pa.us. DEP Keyword “Hazardous Waste.”
Infectious waste must be picked up every 30 days if the waste is stored at room temperature or in a refrigeration unit. Infectious waste may be kept for up to 90 days if waste is stored frozen. Used sharp objects may be stored in appropriate containers until they are full.
Used sharps, including needles, reamers, broaches, syringes and scalpels, must be stored in rigid, tightly lidded and puncture-resistant containers, clearly marked as biohazardous. Used sharps are not subject to the 30-day storage rule and can be stored until the storage container is full. Sharps must be rendered unusable prior to disposal. Under current state regulations, sharps and other infectious waste may not be disposed of at a municipal waste landfill unless they meet certain requirements, such as disinfection by a permitted processing facility.
6. How do I dispose of hazardous waste, infectious waste and sharps in the office?
53