Tips for dental patients

02 Jul 2015

The Dental Board of Australia 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 job of the Dental Board of Australia and AHPRA is to protect the public.

You can help make sure you are getting safe care from your dental practitioner by asking these questions.

1. Is your dental practitioner registered?
   • Check AHPRA’s online, national register of practitioners and make sure your dental practitioner is registered and meets national standards.
2. Is your dentist wearing appropriate clothing, gloves, a mask and is there eyewear? 
3. Does the surgery look clean and tidy? 
4. Is there somewhere the practitioner can wash their hands? 
5. Does your dentist work with an assistant? 
6. Are the instruments clean and are there disposable items as well? 
7. You can ask your dentist if their instruments are sterilized or if they have an autoclave.

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

Who to contact

It is usually best to resolve any problems with your dentist if you can.

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

• AHPRA and the Dental Board of Australia on 1300 419 495 
• The Healthcare Complaints Commission in NSW on 1800 043 159 
• The Office of the Health Ombudsman in Queensland on 1800 043 159.