#11 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.

In dentistry, diseases can be transmitted through:

• Direct Contact with microorganisms from an infected person to a host that is not immune;
  
  
• Indirect contact with objects that are contaminated, such as instruments, items or surfaces;
  
  
• Droplet transmission, in which spray or spatter containing microorganisms travels a short distance before settling on mucous membranes; or
  
  
• An airborne route, by which evaporated droplets (aerosols) suspended in the air are inhaled
  
  

Best regards,

Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc

Dean