#27 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.

Regulated Medical Waste must be separated from regular trash and includes the following items:

Sharps

  • Needles

  • Scalpel blades

  • Orthodontic wires and bands

  • Broken instruments

  • Burs

Blood and blood-soaked waste / Pathological waste

  • Extracted teeth

  • Biopsy specimens

  • Surgically removed hard and soft tissue

Best regards,

John Featherstone, MSc, PhD
Interim Dean

Archived editions of the Infection Control: Did you know? series are available here: http://dentistry.ucsf.edu/about/about_infectioncontrol.html