Dental Assisting - Importance of Infection Control, Preset Trays, ADA Codes, PPE, Dietary Education, Tooth Anatomy

Running head: DENTAL ASSISTING 1
Dental Assisting
Name
Institution

DENTAL ASSISTING 2
Dental Assisting
Question 1
Materials and medication used in dental care should be stored in clean zones for purposes of
infection control. Infection control helps to prevent the spread of infections through disease-
carrying agents such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In dental care, disease-causing
microorganisms can be spread if the materials used in the practice are left in environments that
do not undergo regular decontamination (Walsh, 2012). Dentists and their clinical staff must
ensure that they operate in clean premises and store their materials and medication in clean zones
to minimize or completely prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The working area is
normally contaminated with materials from dental care and thus these medication bottles should
never be left on top of the benches in these areas. These benches require regular cleaning to get
read of infectious microorganisms (Walsh, 2012). Cleaning also helps in maintaining a clean
environment free of dust deposit, soil, and microbes that can transmit infections.
Question 2
Using preset dental trays and cassettes have numerous advantages that include the following.
Firstly, preset trays save time because the instruments used in dental practice are normally
arranged in the same order thus eliminating unnecessary motion to pick materials from
elsewhere. The instruments are also arranged in an appropriate order for simplicity of practice.
Secondly, the use of cassettes ensures patient and staff safety by reducing the probability of
percutaneous injuries that may be caused by dirty instruments. These cassettes cover the
instruments thus reducing the amount of time these instruments are handled and as a result
reducing the possibility of accidents during transportation and practice (Walsh, 2012).

DENTAL ASSISTING 3
Additionally, the preset trays help in preventing cross-contamination that may result from
frequent handling of the instruments. Furthermore, they are procedure specific such that the
dentist and his clinical staff preplans all the necessary instruments they need for practice thus
making sure they are well prepared before undertaking the necessary procedures (Walsh, 2012).
Finally, these preset trays and cassettes help to prevent the breakage of instruments used in
dental surgery.
Question 4
The ADA assigns a three-digit code to all clinical procedure that it considers to be part of the
present dental practice. Several principles are applied in during schedule review of the nursing
practice. Some of these principles include; there is no exclusive reversal of item numbers for use
by specialists, services on primary and secondary teeth are not differentiated unless the
procedure to be undertaken is unique for that particular group, and schedule listing is only
considered for the accepted forms of therapy among others. Below are some of the items and
services delivered with their corresponding three-digit codes (The Australian Schedule of Dental
Services and Glossary, 2013).
i. Active Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy – per quadrant which has a code of 250.
ii. Supportive Periodontal Therapy – per appointment which has a code of 251.
iii. The removal of bone or tooth division with a code of 322.
iv. The removal of a tooth or part(s) thereof which has a code of 311.
v. Complete maxillary denture with a code of 711.
Question 5