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To be compliant with Cal/OSHA standards, California dental practices are required to train any team member who may be exposed to bloodborne pathogens. CDA has resources available to support your practice in achieving compliance.

CDA members benefit from a new online training program designed to help California dental practices achieve full compliance with Cal/OSHA’s requirements for bloodborne pathogen safety training and exposure control.

Dentists have contacted CDA Practice Support with questions about a letter they received from the California Department of Industrial Relations that provides “a list of critical requirements related to COVID-19” that may apply to the business owner and workplace. 

A new safety sharps product, the Verena Solutions SimpleCAP, is available to dentists and can be purchased from most major suppliers. Dental practices are required by the Cal/OSHA bloodborne pathogens regulation to regularly evaluate the appropriateness of using safety sharps with the goal of reducing needlesticks and other “sharps” injuries that can cause exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

As the number of measles cases in California and at least 25 other states continues to rise, becoming the highest number of reported cases in the U.S. since 1994, dental practices should ensure that they are screening patients for the highly contagious virus and other aerosol transmissible diseases prior to providing treatment.

In a final rule issued by the Food and Drug Administration, 24 active ingredients used in nonprescription antiseptic products are “not generally recognized as safe and effective” (GRAS/GRAE) for use by health care professionals in health care settings or situations “due to insufficient data.” The ban applies to use of these ingredients in over-the-counter antiseptics and takes effect Dec. 20, 2018.

What must a dental office emergency kit contain? The answer varies depending on individual state dental board requirements. There are basic necessities dentists are required to include in emergency kits, according to the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs.