Need Help For OSHA Compliance For a Startup in Dental Practice

Need Help For OSHA Compliance For A Startup In Dental Practice

Dental offices, whether big or small, must comply with a wide range of healthcare regulations. One of the most important among them is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA regulations and compliance are concerned with ensuring the safety of all your employees. Fines due to OSHA non-compliance can cost you up to several thousands of your hard-earned dollars.

Not to mention that the results of any inspection must be made accessible to your entire team, causing you embarrassment and leading to low morale among your dental team. OSHA compliance, therefore, is a serious matter for your dental startup.

As a leading provider of OSHA compliance training for dentistry businesses in the U.S., we share with you here the various measures for safeguarding your employees through OSHA compliance.

OSHA requirements for your dental startup

The lion’s share of efforts for OSHA compliance are usually spent by dental setups on hazard communication and blood-borne pathogens.

The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS)

HCS protects your team from various damages due to exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace. In dental offices, chemical hazards can arise from disinfectants, acids, restorative materials, impression materials, and cleaning agents. HCS compliance requires that you have in place a written chemical safety plan. Further, prepare safety data sheets (SDSs) for hazardous chemicals and products and make them accessible to your employees. Accurately label all the hazardous products in use or being stored in your office. online dental ce courses

Blood-borne pathogens

Your dental team needs to handle blood and saliva every day. The blood-borne pathogen standard requires that your dental office has a documented plan to reduce pathogen transmission to your team. OSHA also requires that you immunize your dental team against pathogens like hepatitis B for free and provide them with personal protective equipment.

OSHA employee training requirements

Occupational Safety and Health Administration makes it clear that any standard is incomplete without your team receiving the relevant compliance training. For example, it is not enough that you take all the necessary steps to reduce your employees’ exposure risk to blood-borne diseases. It is equally essential that your dental team understands the various ways in which they can protect themselves from contracting blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

Further, they must also have adequate knowledge on where and how to follow-up medical attention in the case of a transmission incident.

New employees

All newly hired employees must be trained as per OSHA standards before they start working on anything that exposes them to potential hazards. The training should focus on the actual tasks that the employees will perform in your dental office.

Existing employees

All your existing employees must receive at least one annual re-training for all applicable OSHA standards for complete training compliance.

OSHA Training documentation requirements

The training documentation requirements under OSHA constitute the following:

• Training logs containing session dates and topics

• Names and signature of employees who attended the training

• Details covered under each topic

• Name, qualifications, and contact details of the person who provided the training.

Remember that all documentation on OSHA compliance training must be stored at your office and/or online for 3 years.

ToothCE specializes in OSHA, HIPAA and other compliance training needs for dental startups and chains across the U.S. Learn more about our dental office training by visiting or contact us at contact@toothce.com