DANB CDIPC key terms

A written site-specific document required by OSHA that identifies job tasks with risk of contact with blood or other infectious material, lists the safeguards used to reduce that risk, and describes what to do after an exposure.

The federal OSHA regulation, 29 CFR 1910.1030, that requires employers to protect workers from occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials through written plans, training, hepatitis B vaccination, and safe work practices.

Medical treatment started after a possible exposure to a bloodborne pathogen in order to lower the chance of becoming infected; for HIV it involves antiretroviral drugs begun as soon as possible after the event.

A set of infection control practices applied to every patient no matter what diagnosis is known, because all blood, body fluids, secretions, and non-intact skin are treated as potentially infectious.

Body fluids other than blood that can carry bloodborne pathogens, including saliva in dental settings, semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and amniotic fluid.

A microorganism carried in blood that can cause disease in humans, most importantly hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus.

Extra safeguards used along with Standard Precautions for patients known or suspected to have a contagious condition, organized into airborne, droplet, and contact categories that call for added barriers or room restrictions.

The general term for cleaning hands either by washing with soap and water or by applying an alcohol-based hand rub, performed before and after patient care and immediately after removing gloves.

A waterless antiseptic product containing roughly 60 to 95 percent alcohol that is rubbed onto dry hands to rapidly reduce transient microorganisms when hands are not visibly soiled.

Barriers worn by the clinician to block contact with blood, saliva, and other infectious material, including gloves, masks, protective eyewear or face shields, and gowns or lab coats.

A loose-fitting disposable barrier that covers the nose and mouth and shields the wearer from splashes and sprays; it is not a respirator and does not seal to the face.

A tight-fitting filtering facepiece that blocks at least 95 percent of small airborne particles and must be fit tested and cleared by a medical evaluation before it is used in the workplace.

Heavy-duty puncture-resistant gloves worn for cleaning instruments, disinfecting surfaces, and handling waste; unlike treatment gloves they may be reused until they crack, tear, or lose shape.

The full sequence that turns a contaminated reusable instrument into a safe sterile one: containing and transporting it, cleaning, inspecting, packaging, sterilizing, and storing it properly.

The physical removal of blood, saliva, and debris from an instrument using detergent, water, and friction; it must always be done before disinfection or sterilization because soil protects microorganisms.

A unit that uses high-frequency sound waves in a detergent bath to loosen and lift debris from instruments, reaching hinges, serrations, and other areas that are hard to scrub by hand.

A perforated metal or plastic holder that keeps instruments organized through cleaning, sterilization, and storage while letting steam and air move freely around each item.

A test strip or vial carrying highly resistant bacterial spores that is run through the sterilizer and incubated to confirm the unit is truly killing microorganisms rather than merely exposing them to heat.

A tape, strip, or label that changes color after being exposed to sterilizer conditions, showing that a load went through the cycle but not proving that sterilization actually occurred.

A sterilizing device that uses pressurized saturated steam at elevated temperature, commonly about 121 degrees Celsius (250 Fahrenheit) or 132 degrees Celsius (270 Fahrenheit), to destroy all microbial life on instruments.

A dormant, unusually tough form of a bacterium that survives heat, drying, and chemicals that kill ordinary organisms, which is why spores are used to challenge sterilizers.

The complete destruction or removal of all microbial life, including bacterial spores, from an object so that it is safe to touch sterile tissue or enter the bloodstream.

A process that destroys all microorganisms except large numbers of bacterial spores, used for heat-sensitive semicritical items that cannot tolerate steam sterilization.

An instrument that contacts mucous membranes or non-intact skin but not the bloodstream, such as a mouth mirror or impression tray; it requires sterilization or, at minimum, high-level disinfection between patients.

The practices that keep the operatory clean and free of contamination, including surface barriers, routine cleaning and disinfection schedules, and separating clean from contaminated work areas.

A surface touched by hands or hit by blood and saliva during patient care, such as light handles, chair switches, and bracket trays, which must be barrier protected or cleaned and disinfected between patients.

Floors, walls, and sinks that are not directly touched or spattered during patient care and therefore need routine cleaning with detergent rather than disinfection after every patient.

An EPA-registered product that kills most vegetative bacteria plus some viruses and fungi on environmental surfaces, appropriate for items and surfaces that only contact intact skin or general room areas.

A puncture-resistant, leak-proof, closable container marked with a biohazard symbol used to discard needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items immediately after use.

A fluorescent orange or orange-red warning label bearing the biohazard symbol that marks containers of regulated waste and equipment contaminated with blood or other infectious material.

The narrow tubing that carries water to handpieces, air-water syringes, and ultrasonic scalers; its warm, slow-moving water allows biofilm to grow, so it must be monitored and treated.

A community of microorganisms attached to a surface and encased in a slime layer they make themselves, which shields them from disinfectants and makes them hard to remove once established.

A counting measure of living bacteria in a water sample, reported as colonies that grow on a culture plate; dental treatment water is generally kept at or below 500 CFU per milliliter.

A high-dose, short-duration application of a waterline product used to strip away established biofilm, after which a lower maintenance dose keeps bacterial counts within accepted limits.

Very small airborne particles, generally under 10 micrometers, produced by high-speed handpieces and ultrasonic scalers; they can stay suspended in the air for a long time and be inhaled.

Larger droplets thrown out during dental procedures that travel only a short distance and settle quickly onto surfaces, equipment, and the people nearby.

A large-bore suction tip held close to the working site that captures most of the saliva, blood, and spray produced during a procedure and reduces what becomes airborne.

A latex or nonlatex sheet stretched over the tooth being treated to isolate it from the rest of the mouth, which also cuts down the fluids and organisms that get flung into the air.

An antimicrobial rinse, such as chlorhexidine or essential oils, given before treatment to lower the number of microorganisms in the mouth and therefore in the aerosol generated during care.