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April 13, 2009 | Web Exclusive
Clinical 360°: Infection Control


On sure ground: OSAP offers a few pointers for practice

The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures offers a wealth of information on how to safeguard your practice from infection.

by Therese Long


The Set-Up

We all search for tips regarding infection control that can make our dental offices safer, improve our workflow and efficiency, help us better comply with regulations, or suggest money-saving approaches. These tips usually come from those experienced in the field who have come across better ways to do things. This article shares a few such suggestions from experienced professionals who are OSAP members. --Chris H. Miller, PhD – Team Leader

The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures (OSAP) provides one of dentistry’s top resources for infection control and safety. Although “OSAP” may sound a bit like “OSHA”—the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—even to the point where there is some confusion, these two organizations actually deal with dental professionals in an entirely different way.

Similar names, different aims

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OSHA is a government agency whose mission is to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Its scope includes dentistry but covers other professions as well.  OSHA inspects workplaces for violations and has the power to levy penalties of up to $70,000.

OSAP is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote infection control and safety in dentistry. OSAP provides dental professionals with the information needed to maintain a safe workplace.

Beyond ‘I See IC’

Dental practitioners may laugh over some of OSAP’s hilarious compliance videos that mimic YouTube downloads, but the message is no joking matter. Nonetheless, presentations such as these drive home the importance of infection control in a highly memorable way…and they make great tools for staff training.

Dental professionals are invited to visit the OSAP Web site (www.OSAP.org) to obtain news flashes on asepsis, and to obtain answers to questions about disinfecting surfaces, sterilizing instruments, choosing personal protective equipment, and using safety devices. OSAP also is the place to go to learn about regulations, policies, procedures, and dental unit waterline recommendations. The organization also offers continuing education via online, live and print formats.

Simply put, for any infection control matter or other item dealing with occupational safety and health, OSAP is regarded as the one-stop shop for information, training, and help.

OSAP is comprised of member dentists, dental hygienists, lab technicians and dental assistants, as well as faculty from dental educational institutions and programs, dental consultants, policy makers and companies who support quality infection control and safety practice.

Members often contribute useful practice tips to the association’s publications.  In this article, OSAP shares several of these tips to offer insight on some of practical information one can obtain through this organization.

Keeping it all together

In the dental setting, we rely on precision equipment, worker know-how, and routine use of specific procedures to ensure safe, quality patient care. , Dr. Shannon Mills, a past chair of the OSAP Board of Directors and formerly with the United States Air Force, now is Vice President of Professional Relations with Delta Dental Northeast.
Dr. Mills offered the following suggestions for the operation and maintenance of dental equipment to ensure that both human and mechanical factors are always on the same page.

“The manufacturers of every piece of dental equipment in your office have prepared detailed users’ guides and operating instructions that, when consistently applied, ensure reliable equipment performance,” he said.

“For each piece of dental equipment you have, take the page of standard operating instructions, summarize it in an easy-to-follow procedural checklist, and post it next to the device,” he said, adding some users’ guides feature “quick start” instructions that can be photocopied and posted.

“Having instructions in clear view of the device is a great reminder for workers who use the equipment routinely as well as for those who might use it only occasionally,” Dr. Mills noted. These checklists serve to reinforce techniques and procedures introduced during training and encourage compliance every day, every time the equipment is used. Also, include notes on warning lights or create other trouble signs to identify and address specific problems as they arise.

In addition to the posted checklists and notes, Dr. Mills recommended keeping all equipment manuals together in a central place, using a three-ring binder to contain them.

“Make sure everyone in your practice knows where the binder is kept and encourage them to reference it as needed,” Dr. Mills said. “At the front, list each manufacturer’s name, technical support phone number, and e-mail address.  “That way, when you need assistance from the company, you have all contact information at hand,” he stressed.

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