Microbiology and Hygiene

Program:
Health and Disease: Hygiene and prevention principles. Concept of health; natural and social history of health, particularly referred to oral health; factors influencing health status (biological, environmental, lifestyle, health systems). Epidemiological model of infectious and chronic disease.
Epidemiology: Definitions and fields of the science. Main measures of disease frequency (incidence and prevalence), mortality measures (crude, specific and standardized rates), risk measures. Causal relationship. Current sources of health data. Description of population health. Key indicators of oral health. Main types of epidemiological studies: descriptive, analytical, experimental.
Prevention: Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Infectious diseases prophylaxis. Indirect prophylaxis. Direct generic prophylaxis: Notification. Isolation. Epidemiological investigation. Disinfection and sterilization. Direct specific prophylaxis. Active and passive immunoprophylaxis. Chemoprophylaxis. Main prevention strategies to protect oral health.
Hygiene of life and work environment: definition of risk, risk assessment, risk management and risk comunication. Epidemiology and prevention of infectious disease in dentistry. Procedures for prevention of cross-infections in dentistry. Sanitation in dental practice: cleaning, hand hygiene, methods of decontamination, disinfection and sterilization in dentistry. Environmental hygiene: dental unit water, indoor air and surfaces quality, waste management. Non-infectious risk linked to the dental profession. Occupational hazards of physical, chemical and psycho-social origin. Risk assessment and prevention of non-infectious risks. Occupational health protection and D.Lgs 81/2008: Purpose, Role of the figures provided. Organization of work. Noise. Lighting. Ergonomics - the purpose of discipline, applications in dentistry.