Michelle Aubé (Simmonds), RDH

Before being an RDH, I was a CDA and then a CPDA for 4 years. I oversaw ordering burs, sterilizing burs, and storing them in bur blocks in an official bur drawer. These were the years where a loose unpackaged sterile burs in a bur block was acceptable in infection prevention and control.

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.

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...

Some provinces require an ACH test and some do not.

Some require adherence to a specific fallow time and some do not.

For the geographical areas that must adhere to a fallow time, the sequence of the operatory turnover and where and when the clinical notes are written is causing some confusion and must be addressed.

A common question is when does the fallow time begin?

The fallow time begins when the clinician and client leave the operatory.

It does NOT begin when the last AGP was performed.

Why?

The reasoning is while the client is still in the operatory conversing with no mask there could be a chance for airborne transmission.

A hand hygiene program is embedded within the contents of an office's IPAC Program and is often ill-defined. Dental offices may be performing hand hygiene tasks, have procured the necessary products and posted directions for proper hand hygiene, however, it goes much further than this.

In the current situation of dental office closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are varying degrees of concerns that dental professionals are facing. Myself, as an RDH working clinically and an IPAC educator, I have a constant barrage of "what’s and if’s" anxiously circling through my mind like a movie stuck on repeat.

maxill is constantly doing research on any and every topic related to Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC). In the latest news releases, it is now common knowledge that a serious virus, the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), is an evolving situation. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Public Health Sectors, PIDAC, CDC and WHO are all working diligently to ensure the containment of the virus and public awareness for surveillance. As learned from past outbreaks, (SARS) health care providers play a vital role in risk management and assessment. The role of the dental professional is to implement routine screening methods to identify individuals with acute respiratory infections.

maxill is constantly doing research on any and every topic related to Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC). In the latest news releases, it is now common knowledge that a serious virus, the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), is an evolving situation. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Public Health Sectors, PIDAC, CDC and WHO are all working diligently to ensure the containment of the virus and public awareness for surveillance.

Are there expiry dates/shelf life on sterilization pouches?

Unless indicated by the manufacturer, there are no expiry dates on pouches.

A lot number and the date of manufacture are printed on the boxes.

The date of manufacture is in the form of year month day. 

• example 180410.

Expiry dates are typically linked to a food or chemical registered with Health Canada.