MESSAGE FROM THE REGISTRAR

December 1, 2022

Infection Prevention and Control Standards

Today, the DLBNS published the joint Standard of Practice for Infection Prevention & Control (IPAC) document, which was adopted and approved by three of the four oral health regulators – the College of Dental Hygienists of Nova Scotia (CDHNS), the Denturist Licensing Board of Nova Scotia (DLBNS), and the Nova Scotia Dental Technicians Association (NSDTA). This document can be accessed here:

This joint document is concurrent, and in accord with, the Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia (PDBNS), which was also published today on the PDBNS website.

Registrants have until March 1, 2023 to be compliant with the Standards published today, Dec 1, 2022. Compliance should not be an onerous task for practice settings currently in line with the Nova Scotia Dental Association (NSDA) 2013 IPAC Guidelines, and the additional requirements that remained in place once the Joint COVID-19 Guidelines for Oral health Professionals were rescinded.

As you prepare to implement these Standards on March 1, 2023, you are reminded that the additional requirements regarding COVID-19 remain in place. This includes the following:

• People working in denturist clinics who test positive for COVID-19 must exclude themselves from the workplace for 7 days from a positive test result, or from the onset of symptoms.
• wearing masks is still mandatory for all individuals in denturist clinic settings. However, masks will not be mandatory for clinic office staff while in closed staff areas such as private offices, lunchrooms, and kitchens, unless dictated by a site-specific policy.

The NSDA is developing a CE module highlighting notable changes in IPAC protocols since their 2013 Guideline. This online asynchronous (on-demand) module will be launched early in 2023 and will be accessible to all oral health professionals. Stay tuned for details.

Sincerely,

Maureen Hope
Registrar, DLBNS

Loretta Beals
Chair, DLBNS