Dr Vaibhav Garg1
1Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT, Australia
Biography:
Vaibhav has applied his clinical and public health expertise in his role as Senior Dentist and Manager of the Oral Health Program, Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT. He has enabled NSQHS accreditation for the program in 2021 and 2024. His key focus is ensuring high-quality care in remote Australia.
Abstract:
High bacterial load in the oral cavity, direct exposure to blood and saliva and aerosolization occurring as part of treatment provision are just some of the factors infection control processes we contend with in the dental setting. Recently, a key area of risk identified are waterlines. Factors promoting biofilm establishment and growth in waterlines continue to pose a serious risk to patients. Recent advancement in portable technology and proliferation of mobile dental services has led service providers to manage waterlines that were not previously contemplated. This move to ‘non-traditional’ service delivery is exposing waterlines to new environmental factors combined with guidelines being challenged in remote contexts.
Our mobile pop-up portable dental service provides care in very remote Australia. Our patients often experience complex medical needs. As such we have implemented an entirely novel approach to risk assessing, testing, treating and shocking mobile waterlines. This novel approach enables the ability for the service to meet requirements provided for by; Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, the Australian Dental Association Infection Control Guidelines edition 5 and AS5369:2023 Reprocessing of reusable medical devices.
We have developed a protocol for site specific dynamic waterline management risk assessments. A test, treat and shock protocol managing mobile waterlines in remote areas. The past year this protocol has been tested across multiple sites in very remote Australia. The dedication of the wider multi-disciplinary team in partnership with the Safety and Quality team has led to delivery of gold standard care in Remote Australia.