Infection Prevention & Control Guidelines & Recommendations

Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings cover

Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care

This document summarizes current infection prevention recommendations and includes a checklist that can be used to evaluate compliance. The information presented here is based primarily upon the previously published 2003 guideline (see below) and represents infection prevention expectations for safe care in dental settings.

The Summary includes additional topics and information relevant to dental infection prevention and control published by CDC since 2003 including:

Infection prevention program administrative measures,
Infection prevention education and training,
Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette,
Updated safe injection practices, and
Administrative measures for instrument processing.

The Summary is intended for use by anyone needing information about basic infection prevention measures in dental health care settings, but is not a replacement for the more extensive guidelines. Readers are urged to consult the full guidelines for additional background, rationale, and scientific evidence behind each recommendation.