Summary

Standard Precautions in combination with Transmission-based Precautions and Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette provide a hierarchy of preventive strategies to eliminate or minimize HAIs. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC continues to update and refine its guidance to mitigate the spread of SAR-CoV-2 and future respiratory viruses in the dental setting. In addition, OSHA released the Healthcare ETS in 2021 to reduce occupational exposure to SAR-CoV-2 infection. It is reasonable to anticipate that some or all of current interim precautions may be formally incorporated into a future infection control standard.