#10 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.

• The CDC now recommends offering the Hep B, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella-zoster vaccinations to all employees.
  
  

• Potential routes of transmission of Bloodborne Pathogens include:
  
  Patient Dental Healthcare Provider (DHCP)
  
  DHCP Patient
  
  Patient Patient
  
  Think of situations in which each of these routes of exposure may occur.
  
  
• Bloodborne Pathogens are transmissible in health care settings, and are often carried by persons unaware that they are infected.
  
  
  
  
• Spore-testing of sterilizers should be done after a power failure to verify proper sterilizer functioning.
  
  
  
  

Best regards,

Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc

Dean