Clinical Foundations - Outcome 5 Flashcards
Patient Examining Gloves
Used for routine patient care, examination, and other nonsurgical procedures involving contact with mucous membranes and skin, as well as laboratory duties. These are typically latex, nitrile or nitrile blends, polyurethane, or styrene-based copolymers. Plastic (polyvinyl chloride) or vinyl gloves may also be used, however, gloves from these materials tend to tear easily and contain more defects from manufacturing. All of these gloves are for use on one patient only and are discarded after use (CDSA, 2023).
Gloves
Gloves are used in addition to hand washing and protect dental team members from direct contact with microorganisms in patients’ mouths and on contaminated surfaces. They also protect patients from microorganisms on the hands of the dental team. Dental assistant must wear new single-use exam gloves for patient care, whenever the hands might be contaminated with blood, saliva, or other bodily fluid, or will be in contact with contaminated instruments or devices. (CDSA, 2023).
Sterile Surgical Gloves
Must be used whenever invasive surgical procedures are performed; such as whenever intentional gingival, mucosal or dermal flaps are raised, or whenever the cutting or sectioning of bone is anticipated. These are sterile, incorrect hand size, and made of latex, nitrile or nitrile blends, polyurethane, or styrene-based copolymers. All of these gloves are for use on one patient only and are discarded after use (CDSA, 2023). Whenever invasive surgical procedures are performed, sterile gloves are required. Example: Whenever the cutting or sectioning of bone is anticipated; and whenever a simple procedure becomes a surgical procedure; (e.g., a tooth breaking that then requires surgical extraction) (CDSA, 2023).
Overgloves
Overgloves are worn over contaminated treatment gloves (over-gloving) to prevent the contamination of clean objects handled during treatment.
Over gloves are not acceptable alone as a hand barrier or for intraoral procedures.
Over gloves must be worn carefully to avoid contamination during handling with contaminated procedure gloves.
Over gloves are donned before the secondary procedure is performed and removed before the patient’s treatment that was in progress is resumed.
Over gloves are discarded after a single-use.
Utility gloves
Utility gloves are not used for patient care (CDSA, 2023)
Used for cleaning and disinfection procedures, such as during operatory cleanup and instrument reprocessing.
Must be chemical resistant, puncture proof.
Selection and use of PPE, including gloves, must provide proper Standard of Practice: Infection Prevention and Control Standards and Risk Management for Dentistry College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta 8 | Page protection and be appropriate to the task considering necessary dexterity for cleaning
Made with nitrile or latex-nitrile blends, chloroprene/neoprene, butyl rubber, fluoro-elastomer, polyethylene, or other vinyl copolymers.
Commonly referred to as utility, industrial, or general-purpose gloves, these are not for patient care and should be puncture and chemical resistant.
They are relatively thick and should be cleaned and disinfected after each use.
Face masks
Masks are worn to protect the one who wears the mask from disease agents that might be present in sprays, splashes, or aerosol particles from body fluids or other potentially infectious materials. Face masks do not provide a perfect seal around the edges causing unfiltered exhaled and inhaled air to pass through these sites. It is important to select a mask that fits the face well to minimize the passage of unfiltered air. A mask with at least 95 percent filtration efficiency should be worn.
Mask should cover the nose and mouth during dental procedures whenever splashes, sprays or spatter of blood, saliva, other body fluids, or water contaminated with blood, saliva or other body fluids may be produced. The mask must be changed whenever it becomes contaminated or wet or according to (CDSA, 2023).
Use of surgical masks beyond their shelf life
Masks can still be used beyond their shelf life to protect health care providers. Health care providers should check that the straps are intact and there are no visible signs of damage. There is no specific timeframe beyond the expiry dates for masks at which they would no longer be considered suitable for use. (Health Canada, 2020)
Protective Eye Wear
DHCP must wear protective eyewear (e.g., safety glasses, safety googles, or face shields as determined by a point-of-care risk assessment) during dental procedures whenever splashes, sprays or spatter of blood, saliva, other body fluids, or water contaminated with blood, saliva or other body fluids may be produced(CDSA, 2023)
Protective eyewear must have front and side shield protection. (MDA, 14th ed 2024)
Clothing
Protective clothing must be worn whenever there is a chance for contamination of skin or other clothing with spray or splashes of saliva, blood, or other potentially infectious materials. If this clothing becomes visibly soiled, it needs to be changed before caring for the next patient, and fresh protective clothing is required to be put on before surgery. Protective clothing must be removed when leaving clinical areas and should not be worn to lunchrooms or outside the office.
“Laundry in a dental office may include gowns/lab coats, uniforms/scrubs, contaminated textiles, and fabrics often contain high numbers of microorganisms from body substances, including blood other body tissues and fluids. Laundry services for dental offices are provided either onsite or by off-site commercial laundries. To minimize transmission of infectious disease while handling linen, general good hygiene measures and consistent use of appropriate personal protective equipment is recommended. When laundry services are possible onsite, utilize the following guidelines. At home laundry of contaminated PPE must not be performed.” (CDSA, 2023)
Order for Donning PPE
Aerosol Generated Procedures
- perform hand hygiene
-place gown
-put on mask
-place eye protection
-place cap/bouffant
-perform hand hygiene
-place exam gloves
Order for Doffing PPE
Aerosol Generated Procedures
-remove gloves
-perform hand hygiene
-remove gown
-perform hand hygiene
-remove cap/bouffant
-remove glasses
-remove mask
- perform hand hygiene
Order for Donning PPE
Non-Aerosol Generated Procedures
-perform hand hygiene
-place mask
-place glasses
-place gloves
Order for Doffing PPE
Non-Aerosol Generated Procedures
-remove gloves
-perform hand hygiene
-remove glasses
-remove mask
-perform hand hygiene
