What Does Compliancy Group's OSHA Dental Product Consist of?

The following article describes the content of Compliancy Group's OSHA Dental Product.

OSHA Dental Safety Manual

Our OSHA Safety Manual for Dental Practices contains policies and procedures that address both general safety requirements, as well as safety topics specific to the practice of dentistry. The Safety Manual is located in The Guard. Users may be asked to attest to their having read and understood the contents of the safety manual. Topics include:

1. Introduction to OSHA. This policy describes how the OSHA regulations work, and what a business must do to comply with them.

2. Training. This policy describes OSHA training requirements. Most standards contain a training requirement. 

3. Bloodborne Pathogens. These are microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

4. Hazard Communication. Workplaces that use hazardous chemicals are required to inform employees about these chemicals, in a written hazard communication plan

5. Respiratory Protection. This policy covers how to select, use, and maintain respirators. The policy explains the differences between different types of respirators.

6. Electrical Safety. Electrical safety covers basic electrical hazards, and how employees can protect themselves. 

7. Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Action Plan. This plan covers what employees must do in the event of an emergency – evacuate or shelter in place. The plan covers how to ensure a safe evacuation.

8. Fire Prevention Plan. This policy covers fire hazards, potential ignition sources, and fire protection equipment.

9. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). PPE includes gloves, facemasks, respirators, safety goggles, and other equipment that protects employees from harmful substances.

10. Dental Office Safety. This policy covers hazardous substances encountered in the dental industry, including beryllium, respirable crystalline silica dust, and ionizing radiation.

11. Injury Reporting and Injury and Illness Recordkeeping. All employers must report certain injuries to OSHA. Depending on its size and type of work, a business may have to maintain injury and illness records. Dental offices are generally exempt from the injury and illness recordkeeping requirement; however, dental practices must keep records if OSHA specifically requests that they do.

12. Internal Investigations. This policy discusses how dental practice may conduct an internal investigation upon receiving a complaint of an unsafe or hazardous condition,

13. Complaints and OSHA Investigations. After investigating a complaint, OSHA may decide an on-site inspection is needed. This policy describes the complaint process and the circumstances under which OSHA may make an on-site inspection. 

14. OSHA Communications. This policy covers what materials employers must post in their workplace, including the OSHA safety poster.

15. COVID-19 Safety. This policy goes over OSHA and CDC guidance on COVID exposure controls.

16. Self-Audits. This policy describes how a dental practice can voluntarily audit itself. Voluntary auditing, followed by an attempt to correct a safety issue, may be considered by OSHA in determining whether to issue a citation, as well as the amount of the citation. 

Training Presentations
Training Presentations are PowerPoint Slide Presentations for specific safety topics pertinent to dental practices. Presentations cover:

1. Bloodborne Pathogens

2. Hazard Communication Safety

3. Respiratory Protection

4. Personal Protective Equipment

Model Template Plans
Model Template Plans contain instructions on how to prepare required practice-specific plans. These Model Template Plans include:

1. Template Emergency Action Plan

2. Template Fire Prevention Plan

Template Programs
OSHA requires dental practices to provide role-specific training and to assess hazardous conditions. We offer template programs that cover training and assessment requirements. These include:

1. Training Matrix Program (describes what kind of training is needed by the type of dental employee - e.g., front desk, lab worker, assistant, hygienist, etc.)

2. Hazard Assessment Program: Goes over biological, environmental, man-made, chemical, and physiological hazards dental practices should identify and develop control measures for.

3. Hazard Communication Program: Goes over how practices must provide hazardous chemical information to employees, what information must be provided, and how to train employees on hazardous chemical safety measures.

Template Exposure Control Programs

OSHA requires practices to develop template exposure control plans - plans describing what measures the employer must take to minimize exposure to specific hazards). We offer template exposure control programs that allow dental practices to create exposure control programs for:

1. Beryllium

2. Respirable Crystalline Silica

3. Bloodborne Pathogens

Forms and Logs
Specific standards require employers to maintain forms and logs. Examples of forms and logs include:

1. Hepatitis B vaccine declination form (required by bloodborne pathogen standard; employees who decline vaccination must sign the form).

2. Sharps Injury logs (required by bloodborne pathogens standard; records injuries to employees caused by needle sharps).

3. Training logs.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this article, other knowledge base articles, and the Compliancy Group website do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials in the Knowledge Base and on the Compliancy Group website are for general informational purposes only.  Information in this or any Knowledge Base article, or on the Compliancy Group website, may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This article may contain links to third-party websites.  Such links are only for the convenience of authorized users of Compliancy Group's services.