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As Marie Fluent, DDS, puts it, “We’re only granted one set of eyeballs in our life, and we must do everything we can do to protect them.” In this episode of In the Sterilization Room with Jackie, Fluent joins Orthodontic Products Chief Editor Alison Werner and infection prevention consultant Jackie Dorst, RDH, to talk about eye safety in the orthodontic practice.

The fact is the orthodontic team is at risk for unique eye injuries as they provide clinical care. Fluent addresses the four key eye injury risks in the orthodontic clinic: clipping wires, chemical adhesives, debonding procedures, and frequent use of dental curing lights. While she offers best practices for protecting the team during all these procedures, including the importance of the eyewash station, she goes in depth on the latter, explaining the risk of frequent exposure to blue light.

As Fluent points out, we are exposed to much more blue light in our daily lives than ever before. This day-to-day exposure combined with workplace exposure puts the orthodontic team at risk for not only headaches, eye strain and dry eyes, but also long-term damage to their vision. What’s important to keep in mind is that there are many ways to protect your eyes from blue light exposure and Fluent goes through them.

She also explains why personal glasses are not proper PPE in the clinic, and goes on to explain the guidelines and regulations set by government agencies on proper safety eyewear.

Fluent speaks from personal experience when she talks about the trauma of losing one’s sight and the importance of protecting your eyes. She lost sight in her left eye due to a stroke. While not a work-related injury, the loss of her sight ended her career as a dentist. But it also made her hyper aware of the risks dental professionals and their teams are exposed to on a daily basis. She has since become an educator focused on dental infection control and patient safety.

“When you lose your sight, it’s very, very emotional. For me, it cut me to the core—almost like the death or loss of a loved one. And with that I developed a passion for eye safety in dentistry.”

LINKS:
Dr Fluent's article in JADA, titled "Shedding light on a potential hazard
Dental light-curing units": https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-81...

For more on eyewash station requirements:    • Time for a Recheck: Is Your Orthodontic Pr...  

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