Dental Assistants Recognition Week Highlights Critical Role in Infection Prevention

During Dental Assistants Recognition Week, industry leaders are highlighting the often-overlooked contributions of these professionals to patient safety. According to Sherrie Busby, EDDA, CDSO, CDIPC, dental assistant speaker and trainer, and a member of the Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®) editorial advisory board, the scope of the role includes managing the entire infection prevention workflow behind the scenes.

“Dental assistants do more than just assist the doctor,” Busby said. “We are responsible for setting up the rooms, breaking down the rooms, and following the whole chain of infection control from start to finish.”

Dental assistants play a central role in preparing treatment areas, sterilizing instruments, documenting procedures, and supporting patients throughout dental visits. According to Busby, much of this work occurs out of sight, which can lead to misunderstandings about the scope of the role.

“When you go to your dentist and sit down, it looks like magic,” she said. “But there’s a dental assistant running around with their hair on fire, making all that stuff happen.”

Frontline Infection Prevention

In dental settings, infection prevention is especially critical because procedures frequently generate aerosols and involve exposure to blood and saliva. Busby noted that dental assistants rely heavily on personal protective equipment (PPE) and strict cleaning protocols to protect both patients and the clinical team.

“Our best defense is proper use of PPE,” Busby said. “You’re wearing a jacket over your scrubs, gloves, a mask, and safety glasses. It can feel like a hazmat suit, but it protects both the patient and the team.”

Beyond PPE, dental assistants are responsible for extensive cleaning and sterilization processes between every patient visit. This includes disinfecting surfaces, reprocessing instruments, and ensuring that materials are packaged and sterilized correctly before being used again.

“Just the flu can live 48 hours on a surface,” Busby explained. “[Clostridioides difficile] can live up to 5 months. So, it takes incredible cleaning to do [prevent transmission] correctly.”

The profession’s infection prevention responsibilities have evolved significantly over time. Busby, who has worked in dentistry for more than 4 decades, said the field once operated with far fewer safeguards.

“When I started, we wore no gloves. We had no PPE,” she said. “Then HIV emerged in the 1980s, and everything changed. Now infection control regulations are incredibly detailed, and that protects everyone.”

Many Roles, 1 Professional

In addition to infection control tasks, dental assistants often handle administrative responsibilities, including documentation, coordinating laboratory work, and managing supplies. Busby emphasized that dental assistants frequently perform multiple roles that, in other health care settings, would be handled by several different professionals.

“In a hospital, you may have one person responsible for infection control, another cleaning rooms, and another doing documentation,” she said. “But a dental assistant does all of those jobs.”

Despite the wide range of responsibilities, the profession often remains underrecognized and undercompensated.

“The dental assistant is usually the lowest-paid individual in the practice,” Busby said. “Yet they’re the person running around the most and carrying the most duties.”

Recognition and Education

Dental Assistants Recognition Week highlights the importance of acknowledging these contributions and supporting the profession through education and professional development.

Busby encourages those interested in the field to pursue continuous learning and mentorship opportunities.

“Love your patients, love what you do, and educate yourself,” she said. “Never stop learning, and once you gain knowledge, share it. Help make someone else’s life better.”

As dental practices continue to adopt new technologies and infection prevention strategies, the role of dental assistants remains central to maintaining safe clinical environments.

For Busby, the recognition week serves as a reminder of how essential these professionals are to patient care.

“Dental assistants deserve to be celebrated,” she said. “Personally, I think it should be 365 days a year.”