FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 8, 2018 (ATLANTA) — The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP), a community of clinicians, educators, policymakers, consultants and industry representatives who advocate for the Safest Dental Visit™, is pleased to announce record-breaking attendance for the 2018 Dental Infection Control Boot Camp™, held on Monday, January 8 to Thursday, January 11, 2018, in Baltimore, MD.

The OSAP Dental Infection Control Boot Camp™ is a foundation-building educational course covering all the basics in dental infection prevention and control, as well as patient and provider safety. This year, almost 500 dental infection control clinicians, educators, consultants, and sales personnel attended the course and were provided with a comprehensive resource booklet, checklists, and tools addressing the essentials of dental infection control. Participants also had the opportunity to earn up to 24 hours of CE credit through lectures and engaging “boots on the ground” interactive sessions.

Lorena Espinoza, DDS, MPH, Associate Director for Science, Division of Oral Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) kicked off the course. “CDC values its partnership with OSAP and appreciates its work educating dental health care personnel on appropriate infection prevention practices in dentistry. I attended the 2018 OSAP Dental Infection Control Boot Camp™ and was impressed by the significant interest in the curriculum as shown by the record attendance and the active engagement of the participants.”

“The success and growing interest in OSAP’s comprehensive Boot Camp curriculum signals true interest in this topic and supports OSAP’s new education and credentialing initiatives with the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) and DALE Foundation that will be rolling out this spring," says Christina Thomas, executive director of OSAP. "Shorter-term, OSAP is offering free continuing education webinars in conjunction with the CDC; one on January 30 and the other, February 2. We will continue to provide an interactive and vibrant learning environment on dental safety and appreciate the opportunity to work with government agencies like CDC and OSHA, nonprofit organizations including DANB, the DALE Foundation, and others, and, of course, our committed members and our corporate partners. It takes a strong and vibrant community to advance patient and provider safety and OSAP is thrilled to see this community grow.”

For additional information on OSAP and upcoming events, please visit osap.org.

About OSAP

The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) is the only dental membership association solely focused on infection prevention and patient safety education. Our members include individual clinicians, group practices, educators, researchers, consultants, trainers, compliance directors, policymakers, and industry representatives who advocate for safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare. OSAP focuses on strategies to improve compliance with safe practices and on building a strong network of recognized infection control experts. OSAP offers an extensive online collection of resources, publications, FAQs, checklists, and toolkits that help dental professionals deliver the Safest Dental Visit for their patients. Plus, online and live courses help advance the level of knowledge and skill for every member of the dental team. For additional information, visit osap.org.

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