Infection Prevention and Control in Oral Care

Abstract

It is important that oral care is carried out in strict adherence to standard precautions. Particular attention should be paid to the methods of disinfecting and sterilizing instruments and devices being used and to the measures of preventing contamination of the surrounding environment. Since patients undergoing oral care on the assumption of surgery are scheduled to receive endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia, an even much higher degree of cleanliness is required in the oral cavity. Oral care surgery is often accompanied by bleeding just as in regular dentistry, so it is desirable to be performed by a dentist who is familiar with thorough standard precautions.