Infection Control in Dentistry: Marie Fluent, DDS, Champions Safety and Public Health at Midwinter Meeting

Marie Fluent, DDS, dental infection control consultant and speaker at MarieFluent.com, spoke with Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®) after her first presentation at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting held in Chicago from February 19 to 22, 2025. Her topic was titled “Infection Control Update.”

Fluent, whose dental career spans 35 years, spoke in depth on everything from hand hygiene to waterlines. She is passionate about infection control, especially in dental.

“I love the topic of infection control. It's great public health service. And unlike other topics in dentistry, it's not sexy. In other words, if you adopt a new infection control program, nobody cares. If you got a new CEREC machine, everybody would sit around who and marvel at the technology and the time savings and the chair time savings that would be incorporated in adopting that new piece of technology. But if you have a new infection control program, nobody cares, but I consider it kind of like cleaning your house. If you do clean your house, nobody cares. But if you don't clean your house, everybody notices, and everybody cares. Infection control is in that same category, and it's like a public health service and endeavor that you do out at the bottom of your heart for the goodness of the community, your patients, and the safety and protection of your dental team.”

In the often funny and always engaging presentation, Fluent emphasized vaccinations and how to discuss them with patients and health care workers. “All clinical personnel in the dental setting are at risk for exposure to disease agents and other environmental hazards,” Fluent said. “With attention to infection control CDC guidelines, risks to yourself, your patients, and other dental team members can be minimized…No [vaccines] are perfect. Think of them as “bulletproof” vests. They will not protect 100% of the time, but they do help a great deal.”