Washing Procedures in a Dental Office One

¶ … Washing Procedures in a Dental Office

One of the challenges of teaching a lesson plan founded upon "Standard D2.1: Know how to evaluate potential causes and methods of transmitting infections and how to apply standard precautionary guidelines" according to CTE Standards: California Career and Technical Education Standards (232) is that the lesson plan must simultaneously be informative yet also teach critical skills to students. It must balance the need to convey practical information but not solely consist of lectures: a purely academic understanding of the topic will not necessarily affect student behaviors in the field. To impress upon students the importance of proper hygiene, I would first give an overview of healthcare-related infections to students. I would show photographs of what infections look like, both on the human body and also in microbial form. This would be a profound visual stimulus to students about the consequences that infections can render. I would also discuss the specific importance of hand-washing in a dental office and discuss various periodontal issues which can arise as a result of sloppy hygiene.

The lesson would be interactive and as well as showing photographs, I would engage in discussion with students about the various experiences they had in their place of employment, regarding hygiene standards. Personal stories about observed problems with hygiene would highlight the 'need' for the activities detailed in the lesson. If time allowed, a short quiz (either group or individuals) would be given so students could identify the different presentation of illnesses associated with poor hygiene.

Next, the lesson plan would cover preventative strategies. A brief history lesson would be given to explain how guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had evolved since the 1990s. Students would go over the basics of appropriate hand-washing as detailed in the Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care (DePaola 2012). Handouts would be disseminated so all students would have a personal reference sheet for these best practices during class and after the class had terminated. I would discuss the importance of the perception of the dental profession, and the need to project to patients (who often experience anxiety about dental procedures) an image of safety and health. If necessary, I would give a brief overview of the history of the CDC, how it sets guidelines, and evolving beliefs regarding the importance of hand-washing. If available, I would present literature on the current state of hand-washing within the healthcare industry and the extent to which such guidelines are observed and where areas of improvement are needed.

Then, the class would move to the demonstration area. The instructor would demonstrate appropriate procedures for hand-washing, including removing rings and other jewelry (including watches); using the correct amount of hand soap; scrubbing with a brush under the fingernails as well as the palms, wrists, and fingers; rinsing with cool, lukewarm water to close pores; washing for an appropriate length of time; and then wiping off the hands with a paper towel (Hand-washing procedure, 2013, Lesson Plan). Throughout the process of scrubbing, the instructor would explain why these specific steps were being taken: for example, why a brush is preferred to clean beneath the nails to reduce the risk of contaminated bacteria remaining on the hands, why the suggested amount of time is at least 15 seconds for scrubbing and 10 second for rinsing; and why paper towels are used. Then, questions would be solicited from the students.