#3 in a series

Practicing proper infection control procedures is the responsibility of every student, staff and faculty member with clinical responsibilities. With the fast-paced nature of the clinical environment, it is sometimes easy to overlook basic infection control policies. To help raise awareness about these issues, we've created this series of infection control reminders and pointers. For questions about infection control policies or more information, contact the School of Dentistry's Director of Health and Safety, Dr. Molly Newlon at: newlonm@dentistry.ucsf.edu.

• Waterline monitoring and maintenance, and cleaning of evacuation traps should be done weekly.
  
  
  

• Alcohol-based hand gel products have been found more effective in reducing bacteria on the hands than washing with antimicrobial soaps. However, when debris is visible on the hands, they must be washed first before using alcohol-based hand gel products.
  
  
  

Best regards,

Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc

Dean