Maintaining asepsis is one of the most important skills a hygienist learns.

The medical
field has come a long way and asepsis is a great improvement for all medical fields, dentistry
included. Asepsis protects the patient as well as the clinician from harmful pathogens and other
bacteria that is transmitted via surface, skin contact or through the air. This makes maintaining
asepsis an invaluable and indispensable skill for the hygienist.
Since these skills are the most important and the base upon which to build all other skills,
we began our education with asepsis proficiencies. Before we were allowed to move onto any
other skill, we had to pass these proficiencies. I chose to include a unit preparation proficiency at
100%. I remember being very nervous for my first unit preparation proficiency because I was
still developing the skills and didnt think I would remember the correct order of steps. Now, unit
preparation is second nature because I do it every clinic day and also finally understood the
reason behind asepsis, rather than just memorizing the steps for unit preparation. I also included
a clinic daily grade sheet at 100%. I used Oraquix correctly and had good patient management. I
chose to include a second daily grade sheet at 95% because on this clinic day I completed an
ultrasonic proficiency. I performed asepsis correctly during my ultrasonic proficiency including
protecting the patient and myself from the aerosols created by the ultrasonic.