NIOSH Study Finds Private Dental Practices Lacking Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plans

Over a quarter of private dental practices that participated did not have a site-specific control plan

  • Jun 13, 2017

According to a NIOSH study, over a quarter of private dental practices that participated in the study do not have a site-specific bloodborne pathogens exposure control plan (ECP).

The study was published in the June issue of Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry, and focus on whether private dental practices were aware of OSHA’s requirement for an ECP, had a written ECP, and could identify challenges to implement the ECP.

“Having an effective exposure control plan that everyone in the dental office is aware of will better protect dental healthcare personnel and their patients from exposure to bloodborne pathogens” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “Identifying any barriers to the implementation of an exposure control plan is a critically important step to making the exposure control plan as effective as it can be.”

The study found that 28% did not have a written site-specific ECP, and 50% did not plan to implement one within the next 12 months.

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