(Photo: Brendan John, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The American Dental Association recently released updated procedures for COVID-19 dental offices, highlighting the need to assess risks. These new, updated office procedures will help provide dentists with key information to consider when assessing the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace and making decisions that best suit their individual practices, a said the ADA.
The key points of the update are as follows:
- OSHA requires hazard assessments. Dental offices must have a safety plan for exposure control and COVID-19. They should regularly repeat the hazard assessment as COVID-19 conditions change.
- Dentists should keep abreast of advice from federal, state, local, tribal and territorial health agencies and consider how to incorporate these recommendations and resources into specific workplace plans.
- Best practices in workplace hazard assessment and management should take an integrated approach, incorporating evidence-based scientific data in conjunction with psychosocial, state and community factors.
- Dentists will need to use their best professional judgment in making decisions.
- Screenings before appointment of patients are always necessary.
- Staff, patients and non-employees on site should be screened before entering the office, and people suspected or confirmed of COVID-19 should not be allowed to enter.
This updated dental office procedure provides updates to a toolkit and includes a risk assessment and a checklist for risk assessment.
More information is available on ADA News by clicking here.
(Source: American Dental Association)
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