Dental Practice Infection Control Checklist Template

What the Dental Practice Infection Control Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Plan the Week

   4 tasks

   Answer the questions on the first task first. They show the washer-disinfector and ultrasonic tasks your practice needs, the quarterly, six-monthly and annual tasks in the weeks that include them, and the notes for your country. Every due date counts from the Monday the week starts, in working days.

   • Record the practice, the week and who does what — the practice, the Monday the week starts, the country, how instruments are cleaned, the sterilisers in use, whether this week includes the quarterly, six-monthly or annual tasks, and the IPC lead, the decontamination user, the dental nurse on decontamination and the practice manager
   • Set the decontamination rota for each day — who runs decontamination and the surgery checks each day, and who covers, so every daily check has a named person
   • Pick up last week’s open faults and actions — anything still withdrawn from use, service visits booked, and any action carried over from last week’s sign-off
   • Check instructions and logbooks are at the decontamination area — the manufacturer’s instructions for each machine, instrument and cleaning product, the written cleaning protocol, and a logbook for each steriliser, washer-disinfector and ultrasonic cleaner
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Start of Day

   8 tasks

   Do these before the first patient each day and log each day in the table. The steriliser must pass its daily tests before it is used for instruments. The washer-disinfector and ultrasonic tasks appear for the cleaning method on the first task.

   • Flush the dental unit waterlines at the start of the day — every surgery’s waterlines flushed before the first patient, and any self-contained water bottle refilled with distilled or reverse osmosis (RO) water, as the dental unit’s instructions say
   • Check each surgery is clean and ready before the first patient — work surfaces, the chair and the delivery unit clean, nothing left out on open work surfaces, and instruments for the session kept covered in drawers or cupboards until they are needed
   • Check PPE is stocked in each surgery and the decontamination area — powder-free disposable gloves in the right sizes with a non-latex choice, household gloves for manual cleaning, disposable aprons, masks, and eye protection or visors
   • Check hand hygiene supplies at every wash-hand basin — liquid soap in wall-mounted dispensers, disposable paper towels and a hand hygiene poster at each basin, and basins kept for hands only, never for instruments
   • Check the sharps containers in each surgery — puncture-resistant containers close to where sharps are used, assembled and labelled as your sharps policy says, and not filled past the line the container marks
   • Run the steriliser’s daily tests before first use — door seal cleaned, chamber and shelves checked, reservoir filled with distilled or RO water, any warm-up cycle the manufacturer asks for, then the automatic control test and, on a vacuum steriliser, the steam penetration test, with the temperature and pressure recorded and signed
   • Run the washer-disinfector’s daily checks — shown when the practice uses a washer-disinfector: strainers and filters removed and cleaned before the first cycle, and every load checked by eye for cleanliness as it comes out
   • Run the ultrasonic cleaner’s daily checks — shown when the practice uses an ultrasonic cleaner: strainers and filters cleaned, the solution made up as the manufacturer says and changed at the end of every session, and the tank drained at the end of the day
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Between Patients

   5 tasks

   These steps happen after every patient, so this phase is a spot check. The IPC lead watches at least one session this week and records what they saw, not what staff say they usually do.

   • Check clinical contact surfaces are cleaned between patients — work surfaces, the chair, curing light, inspection light handles, hand controls, delivery unit, spittoon, aspirator and X-ray unit cleaned after each patient, with single-use covers replaced
   • Check waterlines are flushed between patients — the waterlines run through between patients as the practice’s protocol says, and sterile water or sterile saline from a separate single-use source used for surgical procedures
   • Check each patient has their own sterilised instrument tray — a separate tray set out for each patient, instruments taken out before treatment starts, and everything set out treated as contaminated afterwards, used or not
   • Check single-use items are used once and discarded — items marked with the single-use symbol thrown away after one treatment, and endodontic files and reamers used for one patient only
   • Check hand hygiene and glove changes at each patient — hands cleaned before and after each patient and before and after gloves, a new pair of gloves for every patient, no jewellery beyond what your policy allows, and nails short with no varnish or false nails
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Instrument Decontamination

   7 tasks

   Instruments move one way, from dirty to clean, through cleaning, inspection, sterilisation and storage. Follow each instrument’s and each machine’s instructions for use. A failed test or cycle adds a task to withdraw the machine and reprocess the affected instruments.

   • Move used instruments to decontamination in a closed container — a leak-proof, rigid container with a secure lid, marked for used instruments and never used for clean ones, taken to the decontamination area as soon as possible so the instruments do not dry
   • Clean instruments in the washer-disinfector — shown when the practice uses one: carriers not overloaded, hinges and joints opened, instruments that need irrigation connected, and each cycle’s parameters recorded
   • Clean instruments in the ultrasonic cleaner or by hand, following the written protocol — shown for ultrasonic or manual cleaning: in the ultrasonic cleaner, instruments in a basket and the lid closed for the whole cycle; by hand, instruments kept under the water and scrubbed with a long-handled soft brush, then rinsed in a separate sink
   • Inspect every instrument under an illuminated magnifier — joints, hinges and serrated jaws checked for blood or dental material, dirty instruments cleaned again, damaged, blunt or corroded ones taken out of use, and hinged instruments and handpieces lubricated as their manufacturers say
   • Sterilise each load and keep the cycle record — a cycle suited to the load, wrapped instruments only in a vacuum steriliser, and for every cycle the printout or a record of the date, the cycle passing, the temperature and pressure reached and the operator’s signature
   • Withdraw the machine and reprocess the affected instruments — shown when a test or cycle failed: the machine taken out of use until it is repaired and passes its tests, the manufacturer or service engineer called, and instruments from the failed cycle cleaned and sterilised again before use
   • Package, label and store sterilised instruments — each pack or tray dated with the day it was processed or the date it must be used by, kept dry and covered away from the dental chair, used first in, first out, and checked intact before use
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: End of Day

   6 tasks

   Close down each surgery and the decontamination area at the end of every day. Clinical waste is kept apart and stored securely until the contractor collects it.

   • Flush and drain the waterlines at the end of the day — waterlines flushed, self-contained bottles removed, flushed with distilled or RO water, left open to dry overnight and stored upside down, in-line filters cleaned at the end of each session and disposable filters replaced daily, or as the manufacturer says if it asks for more
   • Clean each surgery at the end of every session — taps, drainage points, splashbacks and sinks after each session, spittoons and aspirators washed through as the manufacturer says, and cupboard doors, light fittings and the whole floor each day
   • Empty and clean the steriliser at the end of the day — the reservoir drained and cleaned, the chamber dried, the door left open overnight, and distilled or RO water left in opened containers thrown away
   • Reprocess unwrapped instruments left in the surgeries — unwrapped instruments kept in a clinical area reprocessed at the end of the day, used or not, or at the start of the next working day
   • Segregate clinical waste and store it securely — used gloves, aprons, masks and other clinical waste in the bags and containers your waste policy names, sharps in sharps containers, and full bags and containers closed, labelled and kept in a secure store until collection
   • Record each clinical waste collection — the date, what was collected and by which contractor, with the paperwork they leave filed as your waste policy says
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Weekly Tasks

   9 tasks

   Do these once during the week. The washer-disinfector and ultrasonic tests appear for the cleaning method on the first task, and the spore test for practices in the United States. Where a manufacturer sets its own schedule, follow it.

   • Run the steriliser’s weekly tests — an air leakage test on each vacuum steriliser (type B or S) and a residual air test on each type S or N, as well as the daily tests and any extra tests the manufacturer sets, recorded and signed in the logbook
   • Run the weekly spore test on each steriliser — shown for practices in the United States: a biological indicator run in each steriliser at least weekly, as the indicator and steriliser manufacturers say, with the result recorded and acted on
   • Run the washer-disinfector’s weekly tests — shown when the practice uses one: a protein residue test and a check of the door seal, as well as the daily checks
   • Run the ultrasonic cleaner’s weekly tests — shown when the practice uses one: a check of the lid seal and a protein residue test, as well as the daily checks
   • Disinfect the waterlines on the manufacturer’s schedule — the dental unit’s waterline disinfection done when its manufacturer’s instructions say, with only the products they name, flushed through before clinical use, and any water quality testing the manufacturer recommends recorded
   • Clean the weekly items in each surgery and the decontamination room — window blinds, accessible ventilation fittings, shelving, radiators and shelves in cupboards
   • Replace household gloves and refresh the blood spill solution — household gloves replaced each week, or sooner if worn or torn, and any hypochlorite solution for blood spills made up fresh or at least weekly in a clean container
   • Flush little-used taps and the waterlines of any surgery not in use — taps used only now and then flushed once a week, and the waterlines of a surgery closed for a while drained and disconnected as the manufacturer says, or flushed weekly
   • Check stored instrument packs are within their dates — wrapped packs within their use-by date, unwrapped instruments in a non-clinical area no more than a week old, anything out of date reprocessed, and packs rotated first in, first out
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Quarterly, Six-Monthly & Annual Tasks

   6 tasks

   The tasks in this phase appear only when the first task says this week includes them: the quarterly equipment tests and records review, the six-monthly decontamination audit, or an annual validation or service. In other weeks the phase is empty.

   • Have the quarterly equipment tests done — the quarterly tests the manufacturer or the HTM schedule sets for each steriliser, washer-disinfector and ultrasonic cleaner, carried out by the competent person or service engineer, with their signed report filed in the logbook
   • Review staff training records for infection control and decontamination — induction training, hand hygiene training through the year, training on each machine for everyone who runs its tests, and each clinician’s continuing professional development in this area
   • Review staff immunisation and occupational health records — hepatitis B immunisation for staff involved in decontamination, the other immunisations your policy lists, occupational health arrangements, and the record of sharps injuries
   • Check the infection control policy and procedures are in date — the policy reviewed on time, a named lead for infection control and decontamination, a written procedure for each process, and the plan for moving towards best practice kept up to date
   • Run the six-monthly decontamination audit — the practice’s decontamination processes audited with the audit tool your policy names, the results filed for inspection with their actions, and the next review set by the outcome
   • Have the annual validation, service and pressure vessel examination done — each steriliser, washer-disinfector and ultrasonic cleaner validated and serviced as its manufacturer says, each steriliser examined under the pressure systems written scheme, and the reports signed and filed
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: Review & Sign-off

   4 tasks

   The IPC lead reviews the week’s logs and signs the week off. Anything still open adds Phase 9. Nothing after the sign-off can be completed until the IPC lead records a decision.

   • Check every log for the week is complete and signed — each daily and weekly record filled in for every day the practice was open, and signed by the person responsible before the equipment went back into use
   • List anything that failed, was missed or needs action — every failed test, fault, missed check and problem recorded this week, what was done about it on the day, and what still needs action
   • IPC lead reviews and signs off the week — Signed off, Signed off with actions or Not signed off, with the reasons and any conditions recorded
   • Carry open items into next week’s checklist — next week’s checklist started or scheduled, with open actions, withdrawn equipment and booked service visits noted on it
9. 9
   Phase 9

   Phase 9: Actions for Anything That Failed

   3 tasks

   Shown only when something is still open at the review. Each item is put right by its owner, checked again, and closed by the IPC lead.

   • Put right each open item — each fault repaired, test repeated, supply restocked or member of staff retrained, with the evidence recorded
   • Re-check each item that was put right — the same check or test repeated and passed before the equipment or process goes back into use, and the result recorded
   • IPC lead closes the actions — or carries any item still open into next week’s checklist