If you received “OSHA” training, you only received five percent of the needed information to be compliant and reduce risk to yourself and patients. OSHA training is not,

• The Dental Practice Act
• Sterilization
• Patient Safety
• Dental Board Infection Control
• HIPAA
• Radiation Safety
• Environmental Heath Management
• Human Recourses

Dental Professionals must look beyond the “OSHA mentality” and take responsibility to find out what they need in order to be competent in their duties. They also need to change their mindset from doing only the minimum to adding value in everything they do.

It is amazing how often I am asked “What’s new with OSHA?  When the question should be “What’s new with Dental Compliance?”

Why?  its simple; Dental Offices are regulated by more than OSHA, depending on the county and city your practice is located in; it can be as many as seven agencies!

However, if you look beyond your OSHA training and gain an understanding of the compliance makeup you will also gain an appreciation that compliance regulation is an essential part of your business operations, both in growing your practice and maintaining your practice, not to mention reducing financial risk. Today compliance has taken on a whole new meaning, it is no longer a back office issue; it is a “total” practice philosophy.  Compliance is good – good for the staff, good for the patient and good for the practice.  So think “Dental Compliance” and not just OSHA.

Training is a process that improves knowledge and skills and information is the key ingredient for all training. Information must be current, specific to the job, presented by a qualified instructor and conducted yearly. Reducing employee training or looking to cut training costs by doing it yourself is ludicrous. Investing in employee training will payoff many times over and it is a critical element for a Patient Compliant office!

Q: What governmental agencies are most likely to inspect our office?

A: Although there are about seven agencies that are responsible for regulating dental offices, the top three and most active are,

1. OSHA
2. Consumer Affairs (Dental Board)
3. Department of Health Services

General Dentistry – located at 1408 Live Oak Ave., Suite F, Yuba City CA, 95991, Phone: 530.671.1810

Dr. Carver and his Dental Professional Team provides their patients with a Patient Compliant office. “Excellence in Patient Safety and Infection Control” is paramount and the cornerstone of this fine office!

General Dentistry – located at 1400 Townview Lane, Santa Rosa CA, 95405, Phone: 707.578.8100

Dr. Wallace and his team of Dental Professionals take patient safety to the highest level by being Patient Compliant. “Excellence in Patient Safety and Infection Control” is paramount and the foundation of this office!

The mindset for dentistry is on OSHA where it should be on the Dental Board of California which is under Consumer Affairs. I am amazed to find dental offices focused on issues like labeling and MSDS binders more than sterilization and infection control. It is clear that the dental professional needs to become more aware as to what they must know and do regarding patient safety. Patient safety is paramount and it must be delivered consistently but only can be achieved when everyone is on the right page armed with the right knowledge. The Table of Permitted Duties and the Dental Board Infection Control Regulations is a good place to start! Visit the Dental Board’s websites: www.dbc.ca.gov

Cosmetic, Endodontics and General Dentistry – located at 14137 Tyler St., Walnut Grove CA, 95690, Phone: 916.776.2131

Dr. John Noe and his team of Dental Professionals maintain a modern Patient Compliant office that is spacious and on the cutting edge of dentistry. “Excellence in Patient Safety and Infection Control” is the cornerstone of this fine office!

Visit Dr. Noe’s website: www.noefeardental.com

Q: Why would the Dental Board want to inspect my office and if I am not there is my staff required to let the inspector conduct their inspection?

A: In most cases when an inspector from the Dental Board visits an office they are following-up on a compliant filled by a patient or staff member. There are other reasons why a dental office is inspected by the Dental Board like licensing issues, random compliance inspection, field audits, etc. The Dental Board inspectors have the authority given to them by regulations to inspect your office anytime during business hours.  The regulations do not specify that owners, managers, partners, etc. must be present during the inspection. By the way, based on the make-up of regulations the Dental Board has more regulations requirements for dental offices than OSHA!