1. What COSHH is for in dentistry

This course

1 hour of verifiable CPD. Standalone. GDC Development Outcomes C and D.

Suggested study time

• Substances, labels, SDS — 18 min
• Controls that beat a mask-only habit — 20 min
• Spills, mercury, health effects — 17 min
• Knowledge check — 5 min

The duty

COSHH requires you to assess and control substances that can harm health: chemicals, fumes, dusts, and some biological agents from the work. Household bleach in an unlabelled spray is still a substance. So is monomer, alginate dust, gypsum, ultrasonic cleaner, radiographic chemicals if you still wet-process, and mercury from amalgam where you use it.

Safety data sheet (SDS)

The manufacturer’s SDS is the starting point, not a Facebook group. Keep the current version with the COSHH assessment. Staff should know where the folder or drive is. A sheet from 2011 for a product you no longer buy is clutter.

Labels

Do not decant into a drinks bottle. If you must decant into a smaller bottle, copy the hazard information. A plain white bottle marked “wipes liquid” is how someone drinks it at 8am.

Who is exposed

Nurses mixing, nurses cleaning, pregnant staff, asthmatic receptionists walking through a fog of disinfectant, technicians if you have an on-site lab, cleaners at night. The assessment names them.