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South Central MN | I remember it well. Even though it was discovered in 1981, the CDC did not begin universal precautions until 1985. I guess we weren’t as reactive back then;). When I first started dental assisting in 1983, we did not wear gloves or masks, and the treatment area was disinfected with isopropyl alcohol on a gauze square. Unless we did an extraction or saw a patient from the county jail, the instruments were disinfected in a solution called “cold sterile” and not in a heated autoclave. While I do not think we should go back in time to the days prior to universal precautions (now called standard precautions), I don’t know of illnesses passed around. I am sure it happened, but not as much as you would think. | |
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Anyone remember the AIDS epidemic?
