Infection Control/Oral Cancer

Infection Control

Your Dentist's Infection Control Program

PROTECTION FROM THE CROSS CONTAMINATION CYCLE

A 10 STEP PROFESSIONAL INFECTION CONTROL PROGRAM

INFECTION CONTROL PROCEDURES DURING TREATMENT

1. COMPREHENSIVE DENTAL EXAMINATION

Your dentist knows his or her patients. Your dentist has a long established relationship with most patients. This fact, combined with your dentist's comprehensive dental examination of each patient, greatly reduce your risk of infection.

The dental examination includes:

	The patient's medical history, general physical condition, medication, and record of hospitalization.
	A facial examination to check jaw functions and to check for growths.
	An intraoral examination to check for ulcerations, bleeding and any other abnormality.

2. INFECTION CONTROL TRAINING

Members of the dental staff and their families are also your dentist's patients. Your dentist knows each member of the staff, personally. They consistently work together as a professional team to control infection.

In addition to being trained in their dental specialty or dental area, every member of the staff is trained in the latest infection control procedures and retrained when changes in infection control procedures warrant.

3. PROTECTIVE GLOVES

The dentist and all dental treatment personnel wear protective gloves. The wearing of protective gloves is one of your dentist's most important infection control procedures. Dentists, hygienists and assistants routinely wear protective gloves. In addition, all dental treatment personnel wash their hands before and after wearing gloves with a soap which inhibits the growth of microscopic size organisms. Gloves are discarded after each patient, or if the gloves are compromised by tears, cuts, nicks, or abrasions.

4. VACCINATIONS

Staff Vaccination Protection. Vaccination protection against Hepatitis B is now available. This preventative measure can be taken in the unlikely event that any dental treatment personnel become exposed to blood that can cause disease.

5. PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR AND MASKS

All dental treatment personnel wear protective eyewear and masks. Protective eyewear is disinfected between every treatment. Masks are discarded after use.

6. HIV-1 and HVB TESTING

Protection against accidental exposure. Employees exposed to pathogens by accidental skin punctures are offered dentist-paid testing for HIV-1 and HVB if not already immune. Follow-up and counseling is also made available.

7. STERILIZATION

All instruments and items used in or near the mouth are sterilized. Instruments are sterilized with a heat/pressure sterilizer. Liquid chemical sterilizers are used when items will be damaged by heat.

INFECTION CONTROL PROCEDURES AFTER TREATMENT

8. DISINFECTION

All touched and splashed surfaces in the treatment area are professionally disinfected. After all used surfaces are cleaned, an Environmental Protection Agency registered, hospital-grade disinfectant is used to destroy all microorganisms capable of causing disease. Many surfaces are protected by an infection prevention cover.

9. WASTE DISPOSAL

Safe disposal of potential contaminated waste. Potentially infectious waste is separated and disposed of in compliance with all applicable federal, state and office safety regulations.

INFECTION CONTROL AT INDEPENDENT LABORATORY

10. CERTIFIED LABORATORY INFECTION CONTROL

All dental impressions are washed disinfected and wrapped in plastic, before sent to a commercial laboratory. Laboratory infection control procedures are certified by the Dental Laboratory Infection Control Council. DLICC members use the latest infection control techniques to prevent cross-contamination.

Your Visit To The Dentist Can Save Your Life

Periodic Examination & New, Painless Testing Can Help Detect Oral Cancer, a Disease that Kills More People Nationwide than Either Melanoma or Cervical Caner

Fortunately, most oral "sores" or "lesions" are not harmful. But a small number are dangerous, and if not identified early, they may progress to a more advanced stage.

Good News

When oral cancer is detected early by your dentist, the chances of a complete cure are highes.

Oral cancer is a devastating disease when detected in its later stages. late stage treatment usually involves major facial surgery with only half of such patients surviving past five years. Therfore, it is important to see your dentist regularly so that dangerous oral lesions can be detected at an early, most curable stage.

Regular dental checkups, which include an examination of the entire mouth, are essential in the early detection of both cancerous and precancerous conditions. A person may have a dangerous oral lesion and not be aware of it.

Oral "sores" or "lesions" are extremely common. The vast majority are harmless, but some are potentially dangerous.

Because harmful oral lesions often look identical to those that are harmless, the dentist cannot visually determine which lesions are troublesome. Only testing can do this.

Your dentist now has a quick and painless test that can help to identify which oral lesions need further treatment.

OralCDx® is a brush biopsy test that your dentist can use on lesions in your mouth to determine if there are potentially dangerous (precancerous or cancerous) cells present.

The OralCDx test does not require anesthesia or numbing, and causes minimal to no bleeding or discomfort. After a special computer-assisted analysis, the laboratory informs the dentist whether the tissue from your lesion contains abnormal cells.

Reassurance

In the majority of cases, the sample obtained will be normal, reassuring you and the dentist that the oral lesion does not contain precancerous or canerous cells. your dentist may need to retest your lesion periodically if it persists or changes.

When abnormal cells are identified by the OralCDx test, your dentist will direct you for further testing. Rest assured that both you and your dentist have taken the right first step to detect oral cancer early when the chances of a complete cure are highest.

Some Facts About

Oral cancer occurs more often in those who use tobacco in any form including: cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes, and cigars; or those who consume large amounts of alcohol. But oral cancer can and does develop in people of all ages, races, and lifestyle habits. Over 25% of oral cancers occur in people who do not smoke and who only drink alcohol socially.

An oral lesion may be a persistent sore or irritation, a small, flat, red or white patch, or a growth, lump, thickening, rough spot, crust, or irritated area. It is often painless, and you may not be aware of it. Because many oral lesions are flat, very small, or in an area of your mouth that you cannot see, they can often only be detected during a periodic oral examination by your dentist.

Preventive Care

It is important to see your dentist at regular intervals so that any oral lesion found can be promptly evaluated.

OralCDx represents a breakthrough in oral cancer detection, a test that will allow you and your dentist to improve the prognosis of disease that has remained unchanged for the last 50 years.

The most important advances in fighting cancer have come from advances in early detection. For example, the examination of skin moles for melanoma, the Pap smear for cervical cancer, the rectal exam and PSA test for prostate cancer, and the physical exam and mammogram for breast cancer have all been important advances in the fight against cancer. Careful, periodic examination of your mouth by your dentist, and testing of oral lesions found during that examination with OralCDx, can have a similar impact on reducing oral cancer.