COVID-19 fundamentally changed dental infection control. Respiratory protection is now included in the dental safety standards and the previously elusive arena of airborne disease management is now considered a realistic goal. There are many options to consider and some weak links in available practices. This class gives you a “Hit List” of the most important infectious airborne diseases and effective strategies to protect against droplet, contact & aerosol transmitted diseases (ATD’s).

COURSE OVERVIEW
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Update safety standards and goals for contact, droplet and airborne disease management
- Prioritize respiratory safety strategies that are the most effective
- Identify and address weak links in dental safety practices
COURSE SPEAKER

Ms. Dewhirst graduated from, and was a clinical instructor in Dental Hygiene at University of Southern California and teaches Oral Pathology, Preventive Dentistry and Infection Control at West Coast University Dept. of Dental Hygiene. She is a nationally recognized speaker, author and consultant, focusing on infectious diseases, clinical safety, instrument sharpening, ergonomics and preventive dentistry. Ms. Dewhirst is a “top 100 U.S. Speaker”, and is on the California Dental Assoc., ADA and OSAP speaker’s / Consultants bureaus. Ms. Dewhirst is an experienced author of journal articles, has contributed to textbook chapters and guidelines such as the 2009 ADA Infection Control Wall Poster, CE courses, newsletters, product literature and website content. Ms. Dewhirst has had over 80 articles published in peer reviewed professional journals, has contributed to dental textbooks and national guidance documents. She also writes regular infection control columns in dental industry publications and trains sales reps in infection control. She has presented over 350 seminars nationally and internationally on Diseases and Infection Prevention, Disaster Preparedness, Biofilms, building contamination and Dental Waterlines, Instrument Sharpening, Ultrasonic Scaling, and Ergonomics. She is an experienced hands-on instructor, and presents online programs.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This course is intended for Dental Assistant, Dentist, and Hygienist from novice to advanced.
EDUCATIONAL METHOD
Self Instructional Online CE Course
IMAGE AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
No images in this presentation have been altered.
SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
Information shared in this continuing education activity is developed from clinical research and represents the most current information available from evidence-based dentistry.
KNOWN BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS
Information in this continuing education activity is derived from data and information obtained from the reference section.
DISCLOSURE
This Dental Learning presentation is made possible through the continued support of HealthFirst. Nancy Dewhirst, RDH is a consultant and/or speaker for the following companies and/or organizations: Dental Learning, HealthFirst. Nancy Dewhirst, RDH may receive an honorarium as compensation from the CE Supporter of this presentation and/or from Dental Learning for the time involved in preparing and delivering this online presentation.
Dental Learning is an approved ADA CERP Provider, AGD PACE Provider, and California State Dental Board Provider of dental continuing education. Dental Learning strives to deliver balanced, objective and clinically relevant information grounded on scientific research. Lecturers who are invited to deliver Dental Learning CE webinars are advised to substantiate their claims with research-supported data and to disclose all commitments to, or relationships with, any commercial entity within the dental industry. In many cases, lecturers are sponsored by a dental manufacturing company, which provides them with support in the form of honorarium and/or dental products and equipment in order to help with clinical presentations. Prior to each live CE webinar, lecturers are made aware of the importance of delivering their presentations without commercial bias, and where appropriate, to mention a variety of different product choices that may be relevant to the subject matter of the lecture, for the educational benefit of the participant.
EDUCATIONAL DISCLAIMER
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ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
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