Course Overview:

Whether modernizing an existing office or developing a totally new facility, there are many changes in dental delivery that will heavily impact the design of the dental office of the future. Asepsis, the digital office, new clinical equipment, and pending ergonomic changes in equipment design require space planning in any upgrade or construction. This course is also designed to inform the participant on how to choose functional equipment and instruments that will lead to designing an efficient and ergonomic office. The regulatory issues that will insure compliance with current and projected standards will be addressed.* This course is designed for dentists, hygienists, assistants and manufacturers of dental equipment and instruments.

Course Objectives:

1. To teach dentists and others involved with the dental profession about ergonomic considerations so they can provide optimum environments for task performance.

2. To preserve the physical and psychological health of the office staff while maintaining optimum production.

3. To prevent job induced functional and/or repetitive injuries. Emphasis will be on preserving the natural human to human interface.

Topics To Be Discussed:

• Establishing and maintaining optimum office illumination to aid in preservation of vision and to insure maximum visual acuity of tasks.

• Basic office design criteria to provide optimum efficiency in patient care and staff tasks. Regulatory guidelines* will be emphasized as they apply.

• Current and future technological developments will be discussed and illustrated in relation to incorporating into an office. This will include stabilized patient delivery, touchless treatment technologies, digital radiography, computerized diagnosis and treatment records, video technology and imaging, dental laser treatment and curing systems, microabrasion units, etc.

• Guidelines and examples illustrating the control of aerosols in the dental environment. Criteria will be given for air flow and filtration, laminar air systems, and control of harmful vapors.

• Functional design of sterilization/asepsis areas and selection of appropriate equipment and sterilization protocols.

• Selection of handpieces and magnification systems based on their ergonomics, asepsis, and function.

• Dental water/waterline systems will be discussed and viable solutions offered to maintaining aseptic water to and through treatment equipment.

• HVE and oil-less compressed air will be related to environmental concerns.

• Regulatory guidelines will include aspects of OSHA, EPA, ADA (American Disability Act), ADA (American Dental Association), ANSI/ISO Standards and others as appropriate.

Presenter:

Michael Dougherty, D.D.S., has been in private general practice for 27 years, has used feel based design in his practice for 15 years. He is the founder of the Global Education & Engineering Collaborative (GEPEC), a co-founder of the Denver Academy for Dental Education (DADE), a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), the Center for Office Technology (COT) and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

This course is recommended for all dental professionals and manufacturers.
To schedule, contact Dr. Dougherty