maxill Dental Blog

COVID-19: Guidance on indoor ventilation during the pandemic

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has developed this guide to inform Canadians about how indoor ventilation, in combination with other recommended public health measures, can reduce the spread of COVID-19. This guide also provides practical tips on how to improve indoor air, ventilation and filtration to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

7 Habits That Are Drying Out Your Mouth (and Why It Matters)

Virtually everyone gets dry mouth (technically known as xerostomia) from time to time. Perhaps you’ve felt your mouth go dry in the middle of a scary movie, after a long run on a hot, sunny day, or upon waking up after eating an overly salty meal. It’s not a pleasant feeling — your tongue feels thick and sticky, it’s hard to swallow and talk, and your breath feels, well, not-so-minty-fresh. As the colloquial term cottonmouth suggests, it can feel like your mouth is packed with cotton.

Ministry of Labour Pandemic Planning & Compliance Inspections Happening NOW: Is YOUR Office Ready?

Dental offices are no strangers to the potential of having an unannounced IPAC Public Health inspection. Now dental offices can add the possibility of the Ministry of Labour randomly arriving to the dental practice to inspect the offices pandemic plan and compliance. The difference between the two inspections is Public Health is mandated to protect the public and the Ministry of Labour for the employee/worker safety. Every workplace must be free of hazards to the employee, this includes infection control with the SARS-COV-2 being an infectious hazard. The missions of both authorities do overlap in the end with the result being overall human safety.

Where does it state that an office needs to have a program or system for their DUWL’s?

The question above in the title can be answered by a question… Who has first stated a DUWL system was needed and since when? The manufacturers of the DUWL’s have been the initiating source since the new design of equipment with a closed water system design. The water system is ‘closed’ to outside contamination as long as distilled water is used and not municipal water (tap water). The ultimate goal is to ensure water coming in and used in client care has an accounted quality assurance system so there is no second-guessing if the water dispensed into the client’s mouth is safe.

Fallow Time Impact on Operatory Turn Over and Clinical Notes Completion

The topic of air quality was discussed in the last maxill blog post. The article outlined the varying provincial and territory guidelines on obtaining Air Change Per Hour (ACH) testing and applying the numerical value to determining a fallow time.

Air Changes per Hour and Fallow Times Based on Geographical Regions

Air quality has surfaced as a hot topic in the pandemic control measures for dental offices. Air quality falls under Additional Precautions in a dental offices IPAC Program. Pre-pandemic, offices were following Routine Practice covering hand hygiene, sharps safety, risk management and personal protective equipment. Additional precautions are just that, an addition to the routine practice. Additional precautions are required during respiratory viral outbreaks such as SARS COV-19.

dentalcorp - Providing Patient Care in the New Normal

Julian Perez, hosts a panel discussion with Registered Dental Hygienists, Michelle Aubé-Simmonds and Theresa Cullen, exploring their experiences returning to work and providing patient care in a post-COVID-19 world.

To watch the full video on YouTube CLICK HERE

dentistryiq.com - Dental Hygiene and Infection Control

Spread your infection control knowledge and slow the spread of COVID-19 - Dental hygienists are experts in prevention—yes, prevention of disease, but also of infection. By incorporating basic PPE and hand hygiene information into our patient education, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 while a vaccine is developed.

To read the full article by Joy McCarthy, RDH CLICK HERE

Statement from the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada

Statement July 27, 2020 - Ottawa, ON - Public Health Agency of Canada OTTAWA – In lieu of an in-person update to the media, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, issued the following statement today: “There have been 113,911 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 8,890 deaths. 87% of people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested over 3,801,000 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 44,000 people were tested daily, with 1% testing positive and an average of 510 cases being reported daily from across the country.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov - Applying the precautionary principle to personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic: did we learn the lessons of SARS?

On 24 March 2020, the World Health Organization warned that the “chronic global shortage of personal protective gear is among the most urgent threats to virus containment efforts” in the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.1 In response, actions have been taken by agencies and institutions to conserve current supplies while attempting to procure more personal protective equipment (PPE).