18 July 2025

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ADS Launches Institute to Guide Dental Safety

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The Association for Dental Safety (ADS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formerly known as OSAP, has launched a new organization called the ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science. This organization steps forward at a time of critical need by taking on the primary national responsibility for developing, updating, and disseminating dental infection control guidelines and best practices—a role previously filled by the CDC’s Division of Oral Health until its elimination on April 1. The Institute will be chaired and led by longtime ADS Foundation Board Member Eve Cuny, who brings decades of experience working across the public and private sectors on issues of infection control and patient safety.

For decades, ADS oversaw the work of dental infection prevention and patient safety in partnership with the CDC’s Division of Oral Health. Through private and public partnerships, the ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science will continue and strengthen the crucial work of ensuring safety in oral healthcare across the United States.

“We believe that everyone should be able to visit their oral healthcare provider without having to worry about getting sick in the process,” said Eve Cuny, chair of the newly formed ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science. “It’s crucial that we meet this moment with resilience and ensure that providers maintain access to updated guidelines and tools based on evidence and the best available science for safe oral healthcare.”

For 41 years, ADS has been the premier dental membership association for oral healthcare with a sole focus on dental infection prevention and patient and provider safety. ADS membership includes, but is not limited to, clinicians, researchers, educators, consultants, compliance directors, and policymakers. Through its work, ADS has helped establish clear, consistent, science-based national guidelines and tools for practicing safe dental care that can be life-altering. In fact, ADS’ work has impacted the lives of thousands of patients across the country, including:

In Georgia and California, reports emerged of untreated and unsanitary dental unit waterlines that led to serious systemic infections in dozens of children, leading to their hospitalization and the need for surgical treatment. In response, ADS issued a white paper that outlined clear protocols for treating and testing dental waterlines to help prevent similar incidents in the future. This paper has been used to inform dental practice requirements across the country. The CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) also used this white paper to update its waterline guidance prior to HICPAC’s elimination in May.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ADS was invited by the American Dental Association (ADA) to provide expert-led webinars on respiratory protection for oral healthcare providers. These webinars and excerpts were collectively viewed more than 150,000 times, offering vital guidance and timely resources to safeguard dental professionals nationwide during an unprecedented public health crisis.

Looking to the immediate future, the Institute will appoint an advisory committee to oversee the process of updating the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, which outline national industry standards for safe oral healthcare and were last updated by the CDC in 2003. Looking further ahead, the Institute is exploring opportunities to pursue additional major initiatives in the years to come, including educational content creation, risk assessment tools and training programs for state and local governments, new approaches for guidelines development, and an expanded role in producing position papers.

“Our commitment is clear,” said Michelle Lee, executive director of the Association for Dental Safety, at its annual conference in June. “ADS will lead with purpose, integrity, and innovation—ensuring that dental professionals across the country and around the world have the trusted infection control guidance they need to keep their patients and teams safe. We’re confident in our ability to deliver on this important work under Eve’s strong leadership, and we’re grateful for the support we’ve received as we take this next step for the future of our field.”

Members from more than 18 national associations across the oral healthcare and public health landscape have expressed enthusiasm for the formation of the Institute, its leadership, and its mandate.

“Oral health is a cornerstone of overall well-being and a vital pillar in the health of our nation. Grounded in evidence and driven by a steadfast commitment to safety, the new ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science will continue to support our profession’s capacity to deliver safe, high-quality care to every community,” said ADA President Brett Kessler, DDS. “At a time when the importance of oral health has never been clearer, the American Dental Association congratulates ADS’s transformative step forward with its deep commitment to preserving a culture of safety in dentistry.”

“The Association for Dental Safety (ADS) is the nation’s biggest ally in promoting safe dental care,” said Nicole Johnson, MPH, a former associate director in the CDC’s Division of Oral Health. “Without a doubt, ADS is the best choice to continue oversight of dental infection prevention and control guidelines, ensuring recommendations are current, scientifically sound, translated into lay terms, and disseminated to those who need them on a daily basis.”

The ADS Institute will invite national associations to participate alongside the advisory committee as non-voting liaisons in the process of developing infection control guidance for the oral health profession.

About ADS

Founded in 1984, the Association for Dental Safety (ADS), formerly known as OSAP, is the only dental membership association for oral healthcare professionals that focuses exclusively on dental infection prevention and patient and provider safety. ADS helps operationalize dental infection control and safety laws, regulations, guidelines, standards, and best practices to ensure every dental visit is a safe visit. We support our members and the oral healthcare community by offering evidence-based education, an extensive collection of online resources, and by collaborating with individuals, agencies, and organizations to assure the safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare to all. Our membership community is comprised of individual clinicians, group practices, educators, researchers, consultants, trainers, compliance directors, policymakers, and industry representatives who advocate for the safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare.

About Eve Cuny

Eve Cuny is Professor Emerita at the University of the Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, California. Most recently, she served as the executive associate dean at Pacific and previously served as assistant dean for global relations and director of environmental health and safety. She has lectured and published extensively on the topics of infection control and patient safety and has worked globally with government agencies, universities, and nonprofit organizations to develop best practices in infection control and sustainable oral health programs. Professor Cuny is a former chairperson of the ADS (previously OSAP) board of directors, where she currently serves on the foundation board.

She was a member of the National Occupational Research Agenda Council for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a liaison representative to the Healthcare Infection Control and Prevention Advisory Committee with the CDC until both were disbanded in the spring of 2025. She has been a consultant to the ADA Council on Dental Practice and the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. She is a current member of the Healthcare-Acquired Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance advisory committee to the Washington State Department of Health.

Source: https://www.myads.org/