Fingernail Hygiene: An Overlooked Part of Dental Infection Control?
Maintaining optimal hygiene practices extends beyond the oral cavity and into all aspects of personal care, including fingernail hygiene. Fingernails can serve as a hidden reservoir for bacteria, fungi, and viruses, potentially posing a risk to patients and practitioners.1,2 Given the close contact dental professionals have with patients’ mouths and the need for sterile environments, proper nail hygiene, as a subset of hand hygiene, is an essential yet often overlooked aspect of infection control.2
Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene is part of a list of standard precautions outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care. Other standard precautions include using personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory/cough etiquette, sharps safety, safe injection practices, sterile instruments and devices, and clean and disinfected environmental surfaces.3
Handwashing practices began in patient care settings in the early 19th century. Contaminated hands of health care providers are a well-documented primary source of pathogenic spread.4 The CDC states that hand hygiene is the single most important practice in reducing the transmission of infection...
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Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene is part of a list of standard precautions outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care. Other standard precautions include using personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory/cough etiquette, sharps safety, safe injection practices, sterile instruments and devices, and clean and disinfected environmental surfaces.3
Handwashing practices began in patient care settings in the early 19th century. Contaminated hands of health care providers are a well-documented primary source of pathogenic spread.4 The CDC states that hand hygiene is the single most important practice in reducing the transmission of infection...
Click Here to Read More