Florida Administrative Code › 64 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › 64B5 - Board of Dentistry › Chapter 64B5-25 - STERILIZATION AND DISINFECTION PROCEDURES › Section 64B5-25.004 - Licensees Infected With Hepatitis B Virus

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) The Board of Dentistry is charged with
				the responsibility of protecting the public from dentists or dental hygienists
				who present a danger to the public. The Board finds that licensees who are
				infected with the Hepatitis B virus present a grave danger to the public by
				virtue of the communicability of this infectious disease in a clinical setting.
				Absent the identification of infected licensees and the implementation of
				proper barrier techniques, these practitioners represent an unacceptable risk
				to the health and safety of their patients. Licensees bear the ultimate
				responsibility for the safety of their patients when the licensee or personnel
				employed by the licensee represent a health risk through direct or indirect
				contact with patients. This rule assures the ability of infected licensees to
				practice so long as adequate safeguards are maintained.
(2) Any Florida licensed dentist or dental
				hygienist practicing in this State who is infected with the Hepatitis B virus
				is required to notify the Board of such in writing no later than 14 days after
				learning of his or her infection with the Hepatitis B virus. Such notice shall
				include a copy of the lab report showing the result of that dentist's or dental
				hygienist's Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBSAG) test results. The Board will
				respond to the licensee in writing acknowledging the notification and will
				provide the licensee with an outline of criteria to be complied with which are
				designed to limit the potential spread of the virus. The criteria are:
(a) All licensees infected with the Hepatitis
				B virus must successfully complete, no later than 6 months after receiving
				acknowledgment of their status from the Board, an educational program approved
				by the Board which will aid in a better understanding of the disease. In order
				to receive Board approval, the program must be at least 6 clock hours in
				duration and the program's curriculum must include, but is not limited to:
1. History and nomenclature of Hepatitis B
				virus,
2. Clinical relationship of
				Hepatitis B virus to other forms of viral hepatitis,
3. Hepatitis B virus mode of transmission and
				replication,
4. Blood curves in the
				clinical course of the Hepatitis B virus,
5. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of
				Hepatitis B virus infections,
6.
				The Hepatitis B virus infected licensee and his or her lifestyle,
7. The Hepatitis B virus infected licensee as
				a practicing health care professional,
8. Barrier techniques,
9. The consequences of a break in barrier
				techniques,
10. Proper mechanisms
				for reporting breaks in barrier techniques,
11. Sterilization and disinfection procedures
				in the operatory,
12. Sterilization
				and disinfection procedures in the laboratory,
13. Insurance and legal problems of Hepatitis
				B virus infected licensees; and,
14. Hepatitis B virus vaccine.
Additionally, to obtain Board approval the program must also
				  administer a written comprehensive examination covering each of the topics
				  listed above which must be satisfactorily completed by a participant before the
				  participant will be certified as having completed the
				  program.