The chapter “Regulatory compliance: Waste management guide for dental offices” focuses on waste management practices that can be effective in dental offices. Dental offices release waste substances that can easily lead to contamination or contribute to a public health problem. This indicates a need for effective waste management strategies in dental offices to minimize its negative impact on the human population. One of the strategies that can be relied upon to manage waste in a dental office is good housekeeping and equipment maintenance. Good housekeeping involves looking out for spot-damaged or leaking containers and ensuring that different types of waste are stored in different containers. Equipment maintenance requires all the equipment within a dental office to be inspected and undergo maintenance on a regular basis.
It is also necessary to keep records about generated hazardous waste depending on whether it is recycled or disposed of. Hazardous waste that is disposed of requires a dental office to file a dangerous waste manifest with each shipment which has to be maintained for about three years (Chapter 10, n.d). A dental office also has to train its employees to ensure that they are aware of the importance of effective waste management to minimize the likelihood of pollution. Training is also necessary to ensure that staff members are aware of effective handling of hazardous material. A dental office can also recycle some of the waste materials generated during day-to-day activities.
A dental office also has to be careful in the management of regulated waste streams to eliminate the likelihood of pollution. It is necessary to ensure that dental amalgam waste is not discharged to a sewer or released together with other solid waste. Dental amalgam is made up of mercury therefore, can have a negative effect if not managed appropriately. There is a need for effective waste management practices in a dental office to minimize pollution.
Reference
Chapter 10. (n.d). Regulatory compliance: Waste management guide for dental offices.