December Sprint: Nail Your Dental IPC for 2025
With ACSQHC’s December 2024 primary care infection prevention guidance live and the Dental Board reinforcing compliance expectations, now is the time for dental practices to align policies, training, and records for 2025. Run and document a short, practice-wide IPC audit this month—verify your practice-specific infection control manual is current and confirm steriliser validation, load traceability to patient, and dental waterline maintenance logs are up to date.
1) Introduction: The Wake-Up Call
“If an auditor arrived today, what story would our records tell?” That was the question a practice owner asked after reading the new guidance. The answer wasn’t about intent—it was about evidence. Effective infection prevention and control is central to high-quality care, and 2025 will reward practices that prove it with clean, consistent documentation.
2) The Real Problem: Policy Drift and Patchy Records
Most dental practices don’t fail on care—they stumble on documentation and consistency. Here’s what our quick gap-check revealed:
- Outdated manual: The infection control manual hadn’t been updated to reflect December 2024 guidance.
- Steriliser validation: Last IQ/OQ/PQ sign-off was buried in email and not indexed to current cycles.
- Load traceability: Pouches were labeled, but not linked to the patient record every time.
- Dental waterlines: Maintenance logs existed but missed periodic shock treatment entries and test results.
- Training currency: New starters and casuals lacked recent IPC competency evidence; remote admin didn’t know where to find the latest SOPs.
None of this is malicious; it’s what happens when growth outpaces systems. The fix is a short, sharp audit and a single source of truth.
3) The Pivot: A 10-Day, Practice-Wide IPC Mini-Audit
Scope, act, and show your work
- Day 1: Assign a lead, define scope, and create a simple RAID log (risks, actions, issues, decisions).
- Day 2–3: Update the practice-specific IPC manual against ACSQHC and Dental Board guidance; version and date it.
- Day 4: Verify steriliser validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), biological/chemical indicators, and service certificates; centralise evidence.
- Day 5: Implement or tighten load traceability to patient—barcode labels or unique cycle IDs captured in the health record.
- Day 6: Review dental waterline protocols; perform shock treatment if due, record test results, and schedule routine maintenance.
- Day 7: Run a hand hygiene and PPE refresher (forearm and hand washing before/after treatment, current PPE standards) and record attendance.
- Day 8: Update onboarding and refresher training for all roles (including remote staff) with assessments and sign-offs.
- Day 9: Close gaps, capture photos of labels/logs, and file checklists; ensure everything is stored in one place.
- Day 10: Present a one-page summary to the team and set the 2025 audit cadence.
Result: a documented uplift that stands up to scrutiny.
4) Make It Stick: Single Source of Truth for IPC
“Document your business or get out”
“If it isn’t written where everyone can find it, it doesn’t exist.”
Turn your IPC manual into a living system:
- Structure: House policies, SOPs, checklists, logs, and evidence in one digital hub with access controls.
- Versioning: Date-stamp changes, maintain a change log, and archive superseded versions.
- RACI clarity: Who owns steriliser validation, who does waterline checks, who reviews traceability, who is informed weekly.
- Remote-ready: Remote admin and casuals must follow the same SOPs—no inbox-only instructions.
When staff rotate or work remotely, the single source of truth ensures consistent execution.
5) Training That Works: From Standards to Habits
Role-based, evidence-backed learning
- Micro-learning + drills: 10-minute weekly refreshers on standard vs contact precautions, followed by a quick practical check.
- Hand hygiene: Reinforce thorough forearm and hand washing before and after treatment; audit monthly using a simple rubric.
- PPE currency: Ensure appropriate, current PPE is available and used per procedure.
- Competency evidence: Keep attendance, quiz results, and observed competency sign-offs attached to each staff profile.
- Remote staff: Provide the same modules via LMS, require completion before system access, and capture digital acknowledgements.
Training isn’t “one-and-done.” It’s a rhythm—and the records prove it.
6) Closing the Loop: Traceability, Validation, and Waterlines
From intention to indisputable evidence
- Load traceability: Use barcode labels or unique cycle IDs; record cycle, steriliser, date/time, operator, and link to the patient record. Spot-check weekly.
- Steriliser validation: File IQ/OQ/PQ reports, daily/weekly indicator results, and service certificates in the IPC hub; schedule reminders before expiries.
- Dental waterlines: Document maintenance, shock treatments, and test results; keep a calendar for routine tasks.
By the end of Week 2, the practice had complete traceability, current validation evidence, and a current waterline log—no loose ends.
7) Governance for 2025: Make Compliance Automatic
Cadence, dashboards, and calm
- Monthly IPC scoreboard: Training completion %, hand hygiene audits, steriliser indicator pass rates, waterline test status.
- Quarterly internal audit: Sample 10 patient files for load traceability; verify SOPs match practice.
- Precautions playbook: Default to Standard Precautions; clearly mark when Contact Precautions apply and the exact steps to follow.
- Incident-to-action: When something’s off, the RAID log captures it, an owner is assigned, and closure is documented.
“For the first time, I feel audit-ready any day of the week,” said the practice manager. That’s the payoff of process.
8) Outro: Do the Audit Now—Then Sleep Easy
Small businesses win on discipline, not size. Run your IPC mini-audit this month, update your practice-specific manual, confirm steriliser validation, lock in load traceability to patient, and bring your waterline logs up to date. Put it all in one place. When 2025 arrives, you won’t be scrambling—you’ll be leading.
