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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
The dental assistant must acquire |
A foundation in microbiology to understand the ways to prevent the transmission of disease in the dental office |
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Pathogens are |
Disease producing microorganisms |
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The five major groups of microorganisms are: |
Bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, and viruses |
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Virulence means |
The degree of pathogenicity, or the strength of the organism in its ability to cause disease |
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Acute infections are |
Of short duration |
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Curtain pathogens, referred to as blood-borne, |
Are carried in the blood and body fluids of infected individuals and can be transmitted to others |
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Immunity |
Allows the body to resist disease and prevents foreign bodies from causing infection |
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You must wash your hands before |
You put on gloves and immediately after you remove gloves |
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Alcohol-based hand rubs: |
These products are more effective than plain soaps, or even an antimicrobial hand wash, at reducing microbial flora |
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The BBP standard prohibits |
An employee from taking protective clothing home to be laundered: laundered in office of laundry service |
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The safest approach for avoiding contamination is |
To assume that of the surface has had contact with saliva, blood, or other potentially infectious material, live microorganisms are present |
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Clinical contact surfaces can be directly contaminated by |
Direct spray or splatter generated during dental procedures, or by contact with the dental professional's gloved hands * these must be rigorously cleaned and discontaminated* |
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Two methods that may be used to deal with surface contamination are |
To prevent the surface from becoming contaminated with the use of a surface barrier, and to preclean and disinfect the surface between patients |
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Between patients, |
While you are still gloved, you should remove and discard contaminated barriers. |
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Surfaces typically protected with barriers: |
NOT floors and walls. |
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Blood-Borne pathogens Standard requires |
That contaminated work surfaces be disinfected between patient visits |
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The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) |
Registers and regulates disinfectants and chemical sterilant according to chemical classifications |
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You must always use personal protective equipment (PPE), including |
Utility gloves, mask, eyewear, protective clothing, when processing instruments |
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Exposure can occur through percutaneous injury or by contact |
with the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth |
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The "ideal" instrument- processing area |
Should be dedicated only to instrument processing |
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Before sterilization, |
The instruments should be wrapped or packaged to protect them from becoming contaminated after sterilization. An additional advantage to package instruments is that they can be grouped into special setups |
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Results of sterilization errors: |
Improper packaging, improper loading of sterilizer, improper timing. |
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Three forms of sterilization monitoring are used: |
Physical, chemical, and biologic |
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In many areas, |
Glytaraldwhyde is considered a hazardous material, requires special disosal methods, and may not be dumped down the sink. |