The Dental Patient Safety Foundation and Establishing a Culture of Safety in Dentistry

Join us to hear from Dr. Steve Geiermann, a director within the Dental Patient Safety Foundation, will share insights and resources about how the dental team and patients can contribute to a stronger culture of safety in dentistry. The Dental Patient Safety Foundation and Establishing a Culture of Safety in Dentistry. The dental profession has taken great strides in patient safety particularly since COVID-19 arrived. From taking patient temperatures, parking lots turned into socially distanced reception areas, and innovative office ventilation strategies to high tech personal protective equipment, dentists have re-embraced their role as safety officers for their patients and practices. A culture of safety not only includes the culture of COVID-19, but extends into an opportunity to study less than optimal clinical outcomes and collectively learn from these experiences. As we continually evaluate the provision of dental procedures to improve outcomes, we can apply these same principles to patient safety.
 
We are human and we all make mistakes, even in the delivery of health care. These errors create unsafe conditions and close calls, which can result in patient and/or staff injury when circumstances align. Our medical colleagues have spent almost three decades wrestling with these same issues. Dentistry is just leaving the gate in this race as it learns to embrace transparency when things go wrong in dentistry. Register here.