CDC recommendations for dental settings
As part of its 1994 guidelines for TB control in health care settings, the CDC provided recommendations for dental care settings. These are the main features:
• Each facility should conduct a periodic risk assessment of TB to develop an adequate TB control policy. TB protocol should include provisions for detecting and referring patients with known or suspected TB and employer-sponsored education, counseling, and screening for employees.
• During an initial medical history, patients should be asked whether they have a history of TB or current symptoms suggestive of TB.
• If patients have symptoms suggestive of TB, they should be given a surgical mask and transferred for prompt medical evaluation.
• Elective dental treatment should be deferred until a patient is no longer infectious. For known or suspected TB patients who need urgent dental care, dental workers should wear respiratory protection.
• Any dental health care workers with signs or symptoms of TB should be evaluated promptly. The worker should not return to work until a diagnosis has been made or the worker is deemed not infectious.
• For dental care facilities that provide care for populations at high risk for TB, engineering control should be considered similar to that used in medical settings.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for preventing the transmission of tuberculosis in health care facilities. MMWR 1994;43:1-133.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content