The College of Dentistry will follow standard/universal precautions during all patient care. The operator is required to adhere to the following infection control practices before, during, and after all radiographic exposures:
RADIOLOGY ROOM SET-UP AND INFECTION CONTROL PROCEDURES
***NOTE TO Student: Please read before you start.
Before retrieving your patient:
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Your room will be assigned by one of the staff in Radiology.
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Each room will only have a Dexis sensor on the wall holders next to the monitor.
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All other clean supplies will be on the table inside the room except cotton rolls, edge ease, tube cover, and rubber bands.
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Be sure to wash (sanitize) your hands before setting up your room.
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Chair: Place a clean big (opaque colored) plastic bag on the chair's back.
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BID: Secure a plastic bag on the tube head.
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Place a rubber band on the BID to keep the plastic bag tight.
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Put blue sticky barrier tape on three (3) items: the timer button inside the room, the mouse, and the exposure button outside the room.
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Place a blue napkin on one side of the keyboard tray, inside the room. This is for your sensor and XCP’s as you use them in the patient’s mouth. Since the items will become contaminated, this napkin will keep them isolated in one place.
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Cover the keyboard with a plastic bag in the room called a “Keyboard Cover”.
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Cover the sensors with a plastic sleeve first, then place a finger cot over the plastic sleeve. Lay the covered sensor on top of the blue napkin.
***Put on your gown, mask, and protective eyewear: DO NOT WEAR GLOVES TO GET THE PATIENT. Your gloves will be placed when starting images.
Bringing the patient back to the room:
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At the patient's request, place the protective shielding on the patient.
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Remove the patient’s eyeglasses and any removable dentures.
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Discuss exposure time with the assigned staff member before taking images.
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Be sure to wash your hands, put on clean gloves, then start your images.
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When you have completed your images, they will be evaluated and approved before you dismiss the patient and begin room clean-up.
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Once approved, remove your gloves, then take off the lead apron and collar from the patient, hang them up, and dismiss the patient to the waiting room, escorting them if necessary.
ROOM CLEAN-UP PROCEDURES
After dismissing the patient:
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Put on a new pair of gloves.
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Remove all barriers placed: chair, tube head, timer button, mouse, exposure button, tray, and sensor.
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Take all contaminated instruments (XCPs, etc.) and borrowed eyewear to the sterilization room marked “Darkroom”.
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Disassemble the instruments, then place the items in the container of soapy water specifically marked for each item.
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Return to the room used for images, put on a new pair of gloves, and begin clean-up with “PDI Wipes”.
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Disinfect the chair and the tube head arms, not the tube head.
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Remove barriers from the sensor, wipe the cord, and then hang it up in the slot provided on the wall. If a breach (saliva contamination) occurs during images, wipe the sensor with PDI wipes (gently and not over-saturated) before hanging the sensor in the slot provided on the wall.
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Disinfect the black tray that holds the keyboard and mouse.
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Disinfect the protective shielding, if used.
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Remove your gown; however, remain in your mask until exiting the clinic.
