Infection Control, Sterilization, and Safety Standards
The regulatory baseline
Indiana dental practices must comply with board infection-control rules and with applicable federal standards, including OSHA bloodborne-pathogen requirements and CDC recommendations incorporated by reference or practice. The board may discipline a licensee for failing to maintain acceptable infection control, regardless of whether a patient is actually infected. Compliance is an ongoing duty, not a one-time inspection item.
Core requirements
- Hand hygiene and appropriate use of gloves, masks, eye protection, and gowns.
- Sterilization of critical and semicritical instruments, with monitoring such as biological spore testing and chemical indicators.
- Cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and equipment between patients.
- Safe handling of sharps, contaminated waste, and waterlines.
- Written exposure-control and safety policies, plus staff training.
Worked example
A practice runs an autoclave but does not perform biological monitoring and has no records. A consultant asks whether the office is compliant because the autoclave 'seems to work.' The correct answer is that proper sterilization requires validation, not assumption. Without spore testing and documentation, the practice cannot show that sterilization is effective. That is an infection-control deficiency and can support board action, even if no patient has complained.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing OSHA compliance with board compliance; both can apply.
- Assuming chemical indicator strips alone prove sterilization.
- Using 'cold sterilization' for items that require heat sterilization.
- Failing to document monitoring, training, and corrective actions.