Week 9

Mugi S -

Hi everyone and welcome back to week nine! I hope you had a great week, this week was very busy and eventful at internship. I got to attend the Western Regional Dental Experience with my on site advisor last Friday. The Western Regional Dental Experience is an annual (and the largest) dental meeting in Arizona where dental professionals attend continuing education courses and lectures, these are necessary for license renewal. I sat in the Infections and Control Lecture, which was three hours long! It was a mandatory lecture with over 450 general dentists, pediatric dentists, orthodontists, dental assistants, hygienists, and dental administrative staff there. I learned so much information about everything that a dental office must maintain as well as all infectious risks and precautions that a dentist and dental office must take when in contact with a patient diagnosed with a contagious or non contagious disease. I am very excited to include all this information in my final presentation in May! The lecture was hosted by Dr. Marie Fluent, who has been a dentist for 35 years and now specializes in dental infection control and patient safety. The lecture aimed to focus on information about the regulatory requirements of dental offices and even offers practical suggestions on how the entire dental team can work together to ensure that the work environment is mutually safe for employees and patients. We have discussed OSHA and the CDC in previous blog posts and I didn’t know how much dentists rely on these two platforms as reference for patient cases and interactions. I understood the difference between the CDC guidelines, the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, and the significance of  a written office-specific infection control program and OSHA regulatory documents. I’ll discuss a little more in my final blog post next week, I’ll see you all then! 

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    Aydin D.
    Very interesting!What is the difference between CDC guidelines and the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard?
    April 18, 2024 at 9:00 pm -
      mugi_s
      Hi Aydin! The CDC guidelines recommend the Standard Precautions, which include hand hygiene, PPE, safe injection practices, and safe management of known or suspected to be infectious patients. And the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard requires the Universal Precautions, and specifically exposure control plans, engineering and work practice controls, hepatitis B vaccination, hazard communication and training, and record keeping.
      April 21, 2024 at 4:04 pm -
    georgia_b
    Hi Mugi! This is amazing, I hope you learned a lot at the event. Did you get to talk to any of the other dentists?
    April 21, 2024 at 5:34 pm -
      mugi_s
      I know, I'm so grateful for the exposure from the event! Unfortunately, I was unable to talk to other dentists because you needed a formal pass and registration to enter and I used one of the dental assistant's from the office!
      April 22, 2024 at 9:27 am -
    Mariam S
    Hi Mugi! This is awesome. What’s it like working as an intern? I am thinking about applying for one soon and was wondering what your thoughts were. :)
    April 22, 2024 at 9:14 am -
      mugi_s
      Hi Mariam! Yes, you should absolutely apply!! Personally, it is a great opportunity for me to shadow so many cool procedures that I otherwise wouldn't even be able to see until dental school. Additionally, I am so lucky to have an amazing on site advisor who takes so much time to explain everything to me and answer questions. It is also an invaluable time to learn much more about the day to day operations such as patient care.
      April 22, 2024 at 9:30 am -
    Rayan B
    Hello Mugi. I was curious is the Western Regional Dental Experience a closed or open event. If it's closed how often are people invited to it.
    April 22, 2024 at 9:57 am -
      mugi_s
      Hi Rayan! It is a closed conference, for members of the Arizona Dental Association only. They hold conferences and lectures monthly that are mostly online but they do have a fall and spring convention annually.
      April 22, 2024 at 1:21 pm -
    srivarun_v
    How was your experience at the Western Regional Dental Experience last Friday, and what did you learn about dental infection control and patient safety from Dr. Marie Fluent's lecture?
    April 22, 2024 at 10:38 am -
      mugi_s
      Hi Sri! I had a great experience and was amazed at how many dentists are so passionate about their work and the level of professionalism. I learned a lot about the types of situations that dentists are put in by high risk patients or instances of sterile emergency and the correct response procedures to follow.
      April 22, 2024 at 1:40 pm -
    neha_k
    Hi Mugi! That's so nice that they have a conference like this for all dental professionals in Arizona. Is this the lecture that you attended mainly to update them on any new regulations or changes to procedures?
    April 22, 2024 at 11:38 am -
      mugi_s
      Hi Neha! These lectures will definitely update dental professionals on new regulations in the field made by OSHA but are mostly to reinforce and test current dental professionals on their safety practices.
      April 22, 2024 at 1:22 pm -
    Jenna M.
    Hi Mugi! It's great that you got to attend the meeting. I was wondering how often dental professional have to renew their licenses?
    April 22, 2024 at 11:59 am -

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