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DNA or WNB?

BDJ In Practice volume 32, page 32 (2019)Cite this article

Keeping ourselves and others safe from harm is something which most of us live by from an early age whether we do it consciously or not. At Brownies sometime in the mid to late 1980s I proudly achieved my home safety badge. I learnt all the hazards in the home and how to keep myself and others safe. I learnt what to do and what not to do! When you think about it, learning to keep ourselves and others safe is a habit taught over and over to us in many ways. Every day, with two small humans in my house - putting a hot cup of tea down anywhere is a live lesson in risk assessment!

Yet dental teams have specific challenges to keep themselves and the patients safe. Specialist equipment for PPE; training and guidance around safe disposal of sharps equipment; keeping up to date with requirements around radiation and hazardous materials. Dentists routinely learn basic first aid and everyone who has, will recognise the DR ABC method, with the D standing for be alert to danger before any help is given.

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References

  1. Durham Safeguarding Children Board (2018). Serious case review overview report - Charlie and Charlotte.

  2. HM Government. Working Together to Safeguard Children. A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Available online at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/779401/Working_Together_to_Safeguard-Children.pdf (Accessed September 2019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Senior Policy Adviser, British Dental Association, 64 Wimpole Street, W1G 8YS, London, UK

    Nicola Hawkey

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  1. Nicola Hawkey
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Correspondence to Nicola Hawkey.

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Hawkey, N. DNA or WNB?. BDJ In Pract 32, 32 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-019-0179-0

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