Tips for dental patients

The Dental Board of Australia (the Board) and AHPRA have created ‘Tips for dental patients’ to help members of the public make sure they are getting safe care from their dental practitioner.

The primary objective of the Board and AHPRA is to protect the public.

You can help make sure you are getting safe care from your dental practitioner by asking the following questions:

1. Is your dental practitioner registered?
   • You can check the national register of dental practitioners and make sure your dental practitioner is registered and meets national standards.
2. Does the surgery look clean and tidy? 
3. Is your dental practitioner wearing appropriate clothing, gloves, a mask and glasses? 
4. Does your dental practitioner have a sink in their surgery where they can wash their hands? 
5. Does your dental practitioner work with an assistant? 
6. Are the instruments used on you clean or new and disposable? 
7. You can ask your dental practitioner if their instruments are sterilised or if they have an autoclave (which is a machine used to sterilise instruments).

Ask your dental practitioner any questions you have about infection control or what they are doing.

Watch the tips for patients

It is important to note that the video was filmed in a simulated environment with actors and should not be used as a training material for professionals. The video is a resource intended for general public information.

• Transcript - Infection control tips for dental patients - October 2016 (358 KB,DOCX)

Who to contact

It is usually best for you to resolve any problems with your dental practitioner if you can.

If you still have concerns, you can make a notification/complaint to:

• AHPRA and the Dental Board of Australia on 1300 419 495 
• The Health Professional Councils Authority in NSW on 1300 197 177 
• The Office of the Health Ombudsman in Queensland on 133 646.