Dental Waste Management

As a 15-year-old, Susie was used to the occasional outbreak of acne, but the bump on her neck seemed different this time. It started out fairly small and itchy, but now it was big, red, and sore. After visiting her physician, her mother was shocked to hear that the bump was a boil (or furuncle), an infection usually caused by Staphylococcus bacteria that possibly came from pathogens on a dental bib clip. You are probably already thinking, “Give me a break. I don’t sterilize or wipe down bib clips and have never had a problem.” Of course, we don’t have the problem, our patients have the problem. Yet, we might have invited rashes, itching, eczema, folliculitis, boils, impetigo, acne, or other bacterial/fungal infections to the patient’s neck through cross-contamination.