February 5, 2021 - Infection Control in the COVID-19 Era 
Dr. Lou DePaola

Important Notes and Announcements:

• The webinar access link will be emailed 48 hours prior to the program date and email reminders will follow. 
• By submitting your registration form, you are agreeing to CHEP's cancellation policy. Please review in detail prior to registering.
• Greivance Procedure can be gound at the following link - CHEP Grievance Procedure.

Course Description:

Recent breaches in infection control in dental offices across the USA has become a cause of concern for dental consumers. Is it safe to go to the dentist? The answer is yes; when dental practitioners are compliant with recommended infection control practices. In March 2016, the CDC reaffirmed the importance of Infection Control in the dental office with the release of the Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care and Infection Prevention Checklist for Dental Settings which is a summary of infection control recommendations published in Guidelines for infection control in dental health-care settings, 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.2003, Dec. 19, 2003, Vol. 52, No. RR-17, 1-68. Included in these documents are recommendations for updating of Standard Precautions and there are significant modifications that impact the delivery of healthcare. The alarming increase in antimicrobial resistance and healthcare associated infections (HAIs) compels all healthcare providers to be knowledgeable about infection control practices that reduce the risk of disease transmission. A thorough review of CDC Guidelines as well as other current CDC/OSHA infection control recommendations will be presented. Most recently, a cluster of severe pneumonia cases caused by a novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, China in December of 2019 has now circled the globe. To date more than four million cases have been reported. The cause of these infections was shortly identified as a novel coronavirus similar to the SARS coronavirus that emerged in 2003. Although similar to SARS this new virus has been identified as a novel, never reported virus now called SARS-CoV-2. This virus causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome in some patients and this disease has been named COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019). Unfortunately, this virus is capable of person-to-person transmission and has rapidly spread across the globe. The alarming spread of this infection in the USA has had a dramatic impact on dental practice. This update will provide dental providers with the latest information on the management of COVID-19 in the dental office. Paramount to controlling this pandemic are the principles of infection control and respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette which will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on compliance issues and how the New Normal for the delivery of dental care  can be achieved in 2020. This course fulfills CDE requirements for infection control and requirements for annual OSHA training. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the routes of transmission of infectious diseases and how to break the chain of infection in the era of COVID-19.
2. Indicate the updated recommendations for Standard Precautions in the era of COVID-19.
3. Discuss the principles of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases in the dental office. 
4. Review the latest information on the transmission, testing and management of COVID-19 as known on May 9, 2020.

Speaker Information:

Dr. DePaola is the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Professor, Department of Oncology & Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore. He received his DDS in 1975, completed a Master’s Degree in Oral Biology, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine and the American College of Dentists; and has a Certificate in Prosthodontics. He is the Director for dental training for the Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center and served as a member of the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs from 2002-2005. From 1998 to 2002 Dr. DePaola served at the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, Division of Extramural Research of the National Institutes of Health to help develop dental treatment guidelines for patients with HIV/AIDS and infection control practices to protect both patients and practitioners from  the transmission of infectious diseases in the dental office. Dr. DePaola serves as a dental and infection control consultant for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Maryland Department of Corrections. In 2015, Governor Hogan appointed him to the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners and was reappointed for another term in 2020. Well known on the lecture circuit, he has presented at most major national meetings as well as numerous international organizations. Active in research, he has authored and co-authored of over 130 journal articles, book chapters, and abstracts and serves as a consultant to the American Dental Association and numerous other professional groups and private industry. Over the past 20 years, he has been awarded over 75 research and service grants, many in the field of antiplaque chemotherapeutic agents, HIV/AIDS, management of medically compromised dental patients, rapid salivary diagnostic testing, dental unit waterlines and infection control. 

Disclosure: Dr. Lou DePaola and the Planning Committee report they have no relationships with commercial organizations to disclose.  There will be no discussion of off label products.

Continuing Education:

Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc. is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.  ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education.  ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. 

Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc. designates this activity for 3.0 ADA continuing education credits. 

Education Methods Used: Lecture, PowerPoint Presentation

Target audience: dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, office staff

Evaluation and Certificate:

All attendees are required to register their name and email address on the Webex platform and receive an Attention Rating of 90% or higher in order to receive credits. The Attention Rating is calculated automatically through the Webex system and reported to our team at the conclusion of the program. In order to receive the highest rate possible, stay logged into the training for the duration, do not minimize the training screen, and do not open other screens on top of the training. 

An evaluation will be emailed to you within two business days of the program's completion.  You will need the access code announced at the conclusion of the program in order to complete the evaluation.  Once you complete and submit this evaluation, your certificate will automatically generate to be saved or printed.

Registration Information:

Community Dentist - $75.00
Community Hygienist - $60.00
Community Assistant/Office Staff - $45.00
VISN 5 VA Employee - $15.00

Registration will close at the end of the day on Wednesday, February 3rd. We will not accept registrations after this date.