DANB Dental Waste Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to OSHA, what color must sharps disposal containers be in a dental office?
- Yellow
- Red or orange-red (Correct answer)
- White with biohazard symbol
- Any color with a biohazard label
Correct answer: Red or orange-red
OSHA requires sharps containers to be closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof, and color-coded red or orange-red for easy identification.
Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030, sharps containers must be closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof, and either labeled with biohazard symbol or color-coded red/orange-red. They must be maintained upright, replaced when 75% full, and sealed before transport.
Question 2: Which dental material is classified as hazardous waste requiring special disposal under EPA regulations?
- Used patient bibs
- Extracted teeth without amalgam
- Scrap amalgam and amalgam capsules (Correct answer)
- Dried blood-soaked cotton rolls
Correct answer: Scrap amalgam and amalgam capsules
Scrap amalgam contains approximately 50% mercury by weight, classified as hazardous waste under EPA regulations requiring special handling and disposal through licensed carriers.
Dental amalgam is subject to EPA RCRA regulations. The 2017 Dental Amalgam Rule requires amalgam separators with 95% removal efficiency. Scrap amalgam must be stored under water or recycling solution, in sealed containers, and disposed through licensed recyclers. Never place in medical waste, general trash, or down the drain.
Question 3: What is the proper classification of used anesthetic needles and scalpel blades?
- General medical waste
- Regulated medical waste (sharps) (Correct answer)
- Chemical hazardous waste
- Pharmaceutical waste
Correct answer: Regulated medical waste (sharps)
Used needles and scalpel blades are regulated medical waste in the sharps category because they can penetrate skin and transmit bloodborne pathogens.
Sharps include needles, scalpel blades, orthodontic wires, broken glass, and anything that can penetrate skin. They must be placed immediately in puncture-resistant, leakproof, labeled containers. Never recap by two-handed technique, bend, break, or shear. Sharps waste is typically treated by incineration or autoclaving.
Question 4: Which type of dental waste can generally be disposed of as regular solid waste?
- Used sharps
- Blood-soaked gauze that would release blood if compressed
- Lightly contaminated gloves and patient bibs (Correct answer)
- Pathological waste from oral surgery
Correct answer: Lightly contaminated gloves and patient bibs
Items with minimal blood contamination that would not release blood if compressed are generally classified as non-regulated solid waste.
OSHA defines regulated waste as liquid or semi-liquid blood, items caked with dried blood that could flake during handling, contaminated sharps, and pathological waste. Items that would not release blood if compressed (lightly soiled gloves, bibs, cotton rolls) are regular solid waste.
Question 5: What is the EPA-required minimum efficiency rating for dental amalgam separators?
- 50%
- 75%
- 95% (Correct answer)
- 99.9%
Correct answer: 95%
The EPA's 2017 Dental Amalgam Rule requires ISO 11143-compliant amalgam separators achieving at least 95% removal efficiency.
The 2017 rule applies to practices that place or remove amalgam (exceptions: oral pathology, oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics). Practices must also use chair-side traps, vacuum filters, recycle amalgam waste, and maintain compliance records.
Question 6: How should extracted teeth containing amalgam restorations be handled?
- Disposed as regular waste after disinfection
- Placed in sharps containers
- Collected as amalgam/hazardous waste for recycling (Correct answer)
- Incinerated with other medical waste
Correct answer: Collected as amalgam/hazardous waste for recycling
Teeth with amalgam must be treated as amalgam waste because burning would release toxic mercury vapor. They should be collected and sent for amalgam recycling.
Teeth with amalgam are both potentially infectious and contain mercury. Mercury takes precedence for disposal—they cannot be incinerated (releases mercury vapor regulated under the Clean Air Act). They must go to a licensed amalgam recycler. Teeth without amalgam can be disposed as regulated medical waste.
DANB Dental Waste Management 2
According to OSHA, what color must sharps disposal containers be in a dental office?