DANB Patient Medical History & Infection Risk Assessment Flashcards
6 cards from real DANB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 DANB Patient Medical History & Infection Risk Assessment flashcards as text
Which mode of disease transmission is MOST relevant during aerosol-generating dental procedures?
Answer: Airborne and droplet transmission of respiratory pathogens
Dental procedures such as drilling and ultrasonic scaling generate aerosols containing droplets that can transmit respiratory pathogens via airborne and droplet routes to nearby personnel.
Pre-procedural mouth rinses (e.g., chlorhexidine) are recommended before dental procedures to:
Answer: Reduce the microbial load in aerosols generated during treatment
Pre-procedural mouth rinses with antimicrobial agents like chlorhexidine reduce the number of microorganisms in the oral cavity, thereby lowering the microbial content of aerosols generated during dental treatment.
What is the significance of the 'incubation period' in dental infection control?
Answer: It is the period between infection and symptoms during which a person may unknowingly transmit disease
During the incubation period, an infected person has no symptoms but may already be infectious, which is why standard precautions — not symptom-based precautions — are used for all patients.
When a dental office sees a patient with confirmed active tuberculosis (TB), what additional precaution category applies?
Answer: Airborne precautions (N95 respirator, negative pressure room if available)
Active pulmonary TB requires airborne precautions including N95 respirators and ideally a negative-pressure room, as Mycobacterium tuberculosis is transmitted by small airborne particles (droplet nuclei).
What is the role of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard in a dental office?
Answer: It mandates employer practices to minimize employee risk of exposure to blood and OPIM
OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires dental employers to implement exposure control plans, provide PPE and HBV vaccination, train employees, and maintain exposure records to protect workers from bloodborne pathogen exposure.
A new dental assistant asks why standard precautions are used on every patient, even those who appear healthy. The best explanation is:
Answer: Many infectious diseases are asymptomatic, and infected individuals may not know or disclose their status
Standard precautions exist because many serious infections, including HIV and hepatitis B and C, can be present without obvious symptoms, making it impossible to identify all infected patients by appearance alone.