Medical and Pharmacology | Human diseases and medical and dental emergencies | Infectious disease and the dental patient

Infectious Disease and the Dental Patient
Session Overview
Description
This session provides an overview of some of the clinically important infectious diseases you may come across as a dental practitioner.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• List the infectious diseases that may impact on dental care provision
• Identify the clinical presentations of these infectious diseases
• List preventative measures dental care professionals need to adhere to
• Describe the impact of antibiotics in the evolution of infectious agents

Dentistry is a high risk specialty with regards to occupational exposure to infectious agents and diseases.

Practitioners are frequently exposed to blood and bodily fluid, as well as the respiratory tract of their patients.

However, patients are equally at risk of infection, from the dentist, contaminated instruments and the dental environment.

Infectious diseases and their prevention is a vast topic and beyond the scope of this session. However, in this session we shall explore commonly encountered infectious diseases relevant to dentistry, systemic infections of oral aetiology, as well as those of significant individual and public health risk.