Immunisation

In common with all healthcare professionals, dental practitioners and clinical support staff are particularly susceptible to exposure to a range of vaccine-preventable diseases through their work with patients and other members of staff. While mandatory infection control protocols mitigate much of this risk, they don’t remove it entirely.

Dental Board of Australia guidelines mandate that dental practitioners must be aware of their infection status for blood-borne viruses and the ADA strongly recommends that you should be vaccinated in accordance with the Australian Immunisation Handbook (AIH) along with all practitioners and staff in your practice.

The standard vaccinations that everyone working at a dental practice should be given are Hepatitis B, Influenza, MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Pertussis (Whooping Cough) and Varicella (Chickenpox). It's also recommended that diphtheria and tetanus immunisation be maintained throughout life. Additionally, if you work in a remote indigenous community or with indigenous children in QLD, NT, SA and WA, you should be vaccinated for hepatitis A, while workers in areas with a high incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis should be vaccinated with Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG).

If you wish to take extra precautions, you can also consider becoming immunised against poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease and typhoid. Ultimately, each individual should seek medical advice from their own GP about their personal circumstances.

Immunising practice staff

According to the AIH, "employers should take all reasonable steps to encourage non-immune workers to be vaccinated." Your practice should therefore institute an occupational vaccination program for all practitioners and staff, and maintain an immunisation register which documents which person has received which vaccinations, whether this has resulted in an immunised status, proof of their vaccination and the date at which their immunisation record will next be reviewed. This should be considered an integral component of your infection control protocols.

Staff members can refuse vaccination, or to disclose their immunisation status; however it is imperative they are made aware of, and understand, the risks of working in a clinical environment without proper immunity. This should be done in writing and signed by the staff member. While restrictions can be placed upon a staff member refusing vaccination or the disclosure of their status, imposing these in a workplace is a complex matter and shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. If you are unsure how best to proceed in such a situation, please contact the ADA for advice.

In regards to potential employees, we recommend you request that they provide verified vaccination status (a letter from their GP will suffice) as a part of pre-employment documentation. The AIH does not stipulate that immunisation status however should be declared by prospective employees.

For further information on immunisation, please reference Infection Control documentation and the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare by the National Health and Medical Research Council.