The Ethics of Infection Control

By Michele P. Carr, RDH, MA, EdD
Compliance with infection control standards is an ethical obligation and is key to providing quality care in the practice of dentistry. While ethics is a broad term for a set of moral principles,1 it helps guide the decisions oral health professionals make during patient care. Infection control has always been at the forefront of delivering safe and effective dental care; however, COVID-19 has heightened the awareness of both practitioners and patients regarding infection control compliance. The global pandemic has challenged the profession to find even more stringent ways dental care can safely be delivered, resulting in significant changes to infection control protocols. Given that COVID-19 is likely to persist in some capacity rather than be completely eradicated,2 in addition to the presence of other viral threats—such as monkeypox and hepatitis B—the intense focus on infection control in dental and medical settings is likely to remain.
* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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