Sharps Disposal for Dentists

As with any patient and personal care setting, dental sharps are always regulated medical waste, but don’t confuse them with red bag waste. Sharps have their own rules for disposal, and because dental practices handle so many different types of sharps (and so much more often) there should be absolutely no question about compliance. Get your dental practice up to speed with sharps best practices and watch out for common mistakes.

 

Safer Sharps Management is Especially Important in Dentistry

The general sharps handling rules for dentists don’t differ from those set for other healthcare settings. But because dental teams work in such close quarters and may use a wide variety of sharps in a single patient encounter, risks are higher.

 

Needlestick injuries are more common in dentistry than other patient care settings. Those injuries can be dangerous, especially since sharps are a primary source of bloodborne pathogens. Beyond those physical risks, needlesticks can lead to OSHA violations and regulatory non-compliance. At the very least, reporting incidents can slow down your practice operations and hurt your reputation with patients.

 

What Counts as Dental Sharps?

Any item that could reasonably be considered sharp (the adjective) can be a sharp (the noun). This is especially true for any sharp item that has been exposed to patient blood or saliva, which could be infectious.

• Needles and syringes for local anesthetic
• Broken glass, including anesthetic carpules
• Scalpels, blades, burs, curettes, and dental probes
• Dental wire and orthodontic items
• Endodontic files and tools
• Lab knives, instruments, and other tools

 

If you’re not sure what counts, ask your sharps disposal service for quick answers. 

 

Sharps Container Disposal in Dental Offices

Your sharps container regulations are exactly the same as in any other sort of patient care setting. All containers must be:

• Puncture-resistant and leak-proof
• Closable and designed to remain closed once sealed
• Appropriately sized for volume
• Clearly labeled as sharps disposal

 

Containers should be placed at the point of use, not down the hall or outside. They need to be accessible and secure, but still out of accidental reach of patients. In most practices, that means wall-mounted containers.

 

Never use red bags, regular trash, temporary, or makeshift containers for sharps.

 

3 Sharps Container Disposal Mistakes Dentists Make

Mistakes happen, but you’ll want to make as few as possible when it comes to sharps. Watch out for these mistakes and bad habits many dental practices fall into.

1. Practices that use containers that are too small or in awkward locations sometimes transport used needles from one space to another, which means more opportunity for needlesticks. These practices are also at risk of using “just for now” containers, which is a major compliance risk. Instead, look for better places to store sharps containers near point of use, and train employees on safer handling.
2. Practices that put off sharps container disposal because “it’s not that full yet” could wind up in a sticky situation. When there’s no appropriate container available, they sometimes sneak sharps in the regular trash or red bag. That’s a huge safety issue for you, your patients, waste handlers, and the environment. Instead, schedule regular sharps pickups in line with the actual amount of waste you generate, not a default schedule.
3. Another point of confusion is when practices accidentally include sharps in regular waste — not because containers are unavailable, but because the waste doesn’t look like a traditional sharp. Tossing orthodontic wires, implant screws, or burs into the regular trash is a real problem. These items don’t fit the mental image of sharps (needles and syringes) but they can just as easily puncture bags or containers and lead to injuries. Make sure everyone in your practice can easily identify sharps, even ones that aren’t needle-shaped.

 

Be Safe and Keep Up with Training

Sharps training includes a lot of common sense reminders, but everyone could use a refresher now and then. That’s why OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen standard training is mandatory, and many states have extra layers of compliance protection.

 

Keystone Med Waste maintains total compliance when we handle sharps, and we want you to do the same. As a sharps disposal service, we offer sharps safety and medical waste compliance training as an add-on for our waste management package. That way, you can get your disposal and education in one place and know you’re following all the relevant laws.

 

Ready for hassle-free sharps collection? Sign up for simpler dental sharps disposal with Keystone.