A lot has been written on the topic of infection control, and personally this subject interests me, but I do find that there are a couple of gaps in the documentation. The thoughts and actions of some dental professionals leave a little to be desired, and in particular, the wearing of clinic clothes outside work is one of my bug bears.

I work in an area where there is a high population of dental practices, and after a while you get to know who works in them (it never hurts to network). Sometimes I pop out at lunch and often see dental nurses out and about, still wearing their uniforms.

Our whole practice went to a dental open evening last summer and we were open mouthed when we saw an entire practice turn up in their work clothes. Not only would they be hot and sweaty, but teeming with back splatter and aerosol contamination.

I'd like to quote from a textbook of mine: ‘All members of the dental team, including the chair side assistant, hygienist, and dentist, are responsible for maintaining proper infection control techniques … crucial in infection control is maintaining aseptic techniques…

‘This means employing all forms of washing, sanitising, disinfecting and sterilising of items that come into contact with patients to reduce the likelihood of infection with a contaminant…’ 1

We as dental care professionals, in whatever capacity, have an obligation to protect not only ourselves, but our patients and the general public. The use of gloves, masks, face shields and goggles are intended to protect us from the transmission of the infectious diseases that we have to deal with. Our work uniform is designed as such a device; I'm sure that these people wouldn't want to walk down to the shops in their other protective equipment.

From what I have seen recently, quite a few dental professionals seem to think that infection control ends when you leave the clinic, which is both sad and worrying.

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