Dental Hygiene: Hand Hygiene

Presents recommendations for preventing and controlling infectious diseases and managing personnel health and safety concerns and infection control in dental care settings.

This document is excerpted from CDC’s Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003. MMWR 2003;52(No. RR-17):1–76.

Summarizes current infection prevention recommendations published since the 2003 guideline. The information presented here represents infection prevention expectations for safe care in dental settings.

Companion to the Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care.

Provides review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to improve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs.

Investigates hand hygiene in clinical settings, where lapses by medical professionals can lead to serious, even deadly, complications.

Presents and demonstrates the new hand hygiene standards.

Reviews hand washing and glove usage while caring for residents, and how infections are spread.

Demonstrates the aseptic practices during scrubbing, gowning and gloving for operating room personnel.