It’s Dental Infection Control Awareness Month! Every September the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) launch a campaign that highlights the importance of infection prevention and control in dental offices. This year CDC has released a great learning resource, Foundations: Building the Safest Dental Visit, a free online, self-paced training designed to provide understanding of the basics of safe care for infection prevention and control in dental healthcare settings. Whether you are a seasoned dental healthcare provider or want to learn more about dental infection control, this training will provide an overview of the foundations of infection control and the most recent best practice standards.
The Foundations training modules focus on three key areas:
- Foundations of Infection Prevention discusses the basics of infection prevention and control and provides an overview of resources and existing guidelines for best practices.
- Protecting Patients, Protecting Yourself reviews hygiene standards and best practices for equipment in dental healthcare settings.
- Sterilization, Disinfection, and the Dental Setting reinforces environmental guidelines for properly sterilized clinics and proper infection prevention and control strategies.
The three modules include reference guides that explore topics in greater detail and, utilize in-depth case studies that help apply the information in real-world settings. CDC has partnered with the Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention (OSAP) to increase the impact and practicality of this training. The course will be available for learners at no cost through CDC Train. OSAP will provide Continuing Education credits for learners who complete the Foundations training.
Visit the Foundations training page for additional resources.