194 Infection Control Compliance with Toothcop Duane Tinker

A Tale of Two Hygienists Podcast

It’s come to this: the final installment in A Tale of Two Hygienists’ infection control series. To close things off, we’ve brought on a former law enforcement officer who can speak with authority about both the safety and legal ramifications of an unsanitary dental office.

Duane Tinker is the CEO of Dental Compliance Specialists, which works with dental practices across the United States to ensure staff are well-trained in infection control and are working with the best and safest equipment. Known as “The Tooth Cop,” courtesy of his previous line of work in Texas law enforcement, he’s also the host of the Talking with the Tooth Cop podcast.

In this episode, Duane discusses how his work as a state police officer crossed over into the dental profession, explains why complacency is a major factor in the spread of infection, and explores how poor infection control can cost dental practices.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

Interview starts: 6:11

- Duane relates his past investigating unlawful dental practice as a Texas Ranger and what he learned about oral health along the way.

- Going over how Duane ensures practices are complying with infection control protocols—and how his training saved a life in the long run.

- Why waterline safety is one of the more pressing issues Duane deals with in his compliance work.

- What Duane thinks the major reason is why even very competent dental professionals can make hazardous infection control errors.

- Looking at the infection risks posed by aerosol disinfectants as opposed to other methods of administration.

- What’s the monetary and reputational cost of poor infection control? And how Duane thinks the dental industry has improved overtime.

QUOTES:

“Before you can be a doer you have to be a dreamer.”

“There’s so much marketing going on out there, you’ve gotta rise above the noise.”

“It’s not any one person’s fault but the reality is if there’s a failure, it’s everybody’s fault.”

“You come to work safe, you owe it to your families to stay safe, and you owe it to your families to go home without bringing the funk with you.”

“Ultimately, where you draw the line is where the line is.”

LINKS:

Dental Compliance Specialists - https://dentalcompliance.com/

Talking with the Tooth Cop Podcast - https://dentalcompliance.com/category/podcast/

Dental Compliance Specialists on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ddscompliance

OSAP homepage - https://www.osap.org/

Thank you to Paradise Dental Technologies aka PDT for providing sponsorship for this episode!

THIS EPISODE COUNTS FOR CE! - but read the disclaimer below as it might not count for your state.

Go here to take the test and get your CE credit!

Be sure to thank the sponsor for this episode by heading over to www.PDTDental.com and picking up a new instrument or telling them thank you in person at one of the conferences!

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