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A mobile dental clinic California affords a certain level of luxury. Those sitting in a dentist’s chair might not equate a dental clinic with luxury – especially when the handpiece goes up but it is simpler to manage the environment for the staff of the practice, especially when compared to a mobile dental operation.
Mobile operations are just the sort of thing that patients that are hard to reach need. Those who might not be able to come to a permanent facility are served properly by mobile clinics. But those mobile clinics might require extra care to do some functions. For example, in infection control, mobile clinics can achieve the same level of control but it is not always achieved in exactly the same way.
Keep your motor running
Mobile clinics have come a long way. Modern coaches are fitted with fire extinguishers, water filtration systems carbon dioxide smoke detectors, first aid kits and so on. For the most part, considerations in infection control for mobile clinics are the same as those in brick-and-mortar operations. In short, the site would follow OSHA and CDC. There will be biological monitoring of the sterilizers every week, training for the employees upon hire and when there have been changes in the dental clinic’s processes.
Administration concerns are a real issue for mobile dental clinics. One area that can be challenging is what to do in case of exposure. Mobile clinics travel a lot so the post-exposure protocol might not have a specific location where the evaluation is done.
Sometimes the nearest clinic is several hours away depending on the schedule of the mobile clinic. This might make it hard to do an immediate evaluation. It would be prudent to know the location of the closest hospital for post-exposure management, how the testing will be done and whether post-exposure medications are available, especially in a remote area.
Space
Space limitations are common challenges with mobile clinics. Another challenge may be personal protective equipment. Because of limited space, a routine check should be done to ensure that there are enough masks, gloves, and disposable gowns to last throughout the day. This is in addition to the instruments and other dental clinic supplies.
If scrub jackets are used, there must be considerations as to how they’ll be cleaned. According to OSHA, it’s the responsibility of the employer to maintain PPE. Those space limitations in mobile clinics might extend to the sterilization of equipment. If there is no sterilizer on board, it could pose another challenge. Mobile clinic owners need to know how the instruments will be maintained and transported for sterilization.
Guidance
A mobile dental clinic California also functions at varying levels of contact with patients. However, they all have at least one thing in common – bound by the same guidelines for infection control. Although there are recommendations applicable to all settings in which treatment is provided, the recommendations focus on dental settings that use fixed equipment, traditional equipment, and so on. In contrast, a wide range of non-traditional settings uses portable equipment.
