1. Position Summary
Dental personnel infected with blood-borne viruses should be able to continue to participate in dental practice without affecting public safety.
2. Position
2.1 Dental Health Care Workers (DHCWs) have a duty of care to patients and therefore must be responsible for the protection of patients and other DHCWs against infection.
2.2 DHCWs must have the same rights to confidential testing, counselling and treatment as the general population.
2.3 DHCWs status and rights under anti-discrimination, privacy, equal opportunity and industrial relations legislations must be safeguarded.
2.4 All DHCWs should be vaccinated against blood-borne viruses as appropriate for their health status.
2.5 All dental practitioners performing exposure prone procedures should monitor their infection status for blood-borne viruses in accordance with Communicable Disease Network of Australia (CDNA) guidelines. This aligns with by the Dental Board’s Guideline on Registered health practitioners and students in relation to blood-borne viruses.
2.6 Dental personnel infected with blood-borne viruses should be able to continue to participate in dental practice without affecting public safety.
3. Background
3.1 Dental Health Care Workers (DHCWs) face a risk of contracting diseases during the course of their professional duties. Public concern about the potential transmission of blood-borne viruses in healthcare settings has led to a review of infection control policies and procedures. As a result, the Communicable Disease Network of Australia published the Australian National Guidelines for the Management of Health Care Workers Known to be Infected with Blood-borne Viruses.
3.2 Transmission of blood-borne viruses from DHCWs to patients in the provision of oral health care is extremely rare.
3.3 The Board requires registrants to practise in a way that maintains and enhances public health and safety by ensuring that the risk of the spread of infectious diseases is prevented or minimised.
4. Definition
4.1 DENTAL HEALTHCARE WORKERS (DHCWS) are defined as registered dental practitioners, dental students and allied dental personnel.
4.2 BOARD is the Dental Board of Australia.
4.3 EXPOSURE PRONE PROCEDURE is a term describing the risk of injury to the gloves hands of health care workers from sharp instruments, needle tips, and/or sharp tissues, including spicules of bone or teeth as a result of procedures where the fingertips are out of sight for a significant part of the procedure, or during certain critical stages. In the broader sense an exposure prone procedure is considered to be any situation where there is a potentially high risk of transmission of blood-borne disease during dental procedures.
4.4 ALLIED DENTAL PERSONNEL are those, other than dentists, working in the provision of dental services.
5. Last review
February 2026
6. Next review due
February 2026