Compliance with the Communicable Diseases Network Australia guidelines

The Dental Board of Australia is asking dental practitioners at renewal of their registration to declare that they are aware of their infection status for blood-borne viruses and comply with the requirements of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) guidelines and the Board’s Guidelines on infection control.

The registration renewal now asks practitioners who perform exposure prone procedures to answer questions about their compliance with the CDNA guidelines.The CDNA guidelines and helpful information sheets to support practitioners are available on the Department of Health’s website.

The questions are:

Do you perform exposure prone procedures in your practice?

During the preceding period of registration, have you complied with the Australian National Guidelines for the management of healthcare workers living with blood borne viruses and healthcare workers who perform exposure prone procedures at risk of exposure to blood borne viruses?
This includes testing for HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatits B at least once every three years. Testing for Hepatitis B is not necessary if you have demonstrated immunity to HBV through vaccination or resolved infection.

The CDNA defines exposure prone procedures (EPPs) as “procedures where there is a risk of injury to the health care worker (HCW) resulting in exposure of the patient’s open tissues to the blood of the HCW. These procedures include those where the HCW’s hands (whether gloved or not) may be in contact with sharp instruments, needle tips or sharp tissues (spicules of bone or teeth) inside a patient’s open body cavity, wound or confined anatomical space where the hands or fingertips may not be completely visible at all times.”

Examples include maxillofacial surgery and oral surgical procedures, including the extraction of teeth (but excluding extraction of highly mobile or exfoliating teeth), periodontal surgical procedures, endodontic surgical procedures, implant surgical procedures.

Further information can be found at the Dental Board of Australia website.