# IBC ADA 2018 Codes and dental treatment rooms



## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

Hi there,


This is part of a discussion around closed dental rooms. Since the cabinet near the door is fixed to the floor it must comply with the 18" clearance on the latch pull side of a manual door. However, dental office design also has the 'Workplace Exemption' 1103.2.2 Employee Work Areas which allows 'individuals with disabilities can approach, enter and exit the work area.' This section notably refers to 1104.3.1 Employee Work Areas detailing further workplace exemptions (if it interferes with staff use of equipment). As a result, this disallows the use of a swing door and closed dental rooms typically use pocket door configurations instead.
My question to all of you is: what exactly does 'approach, enter an exit' mean? Does it mean the disabled person needs to open the door, pull into the space the full wheelchair clearance space (36"x52") and back out?
Since we have the exemption, no wheelchair turning space is required in the treatment room. It would disallow the proper use of dental equipment (and injure staff with repetitive motions). However, it is still a location where a patient might get trapped and need to be able to open the door, right? So the 18" requirement applies here.
That has been my interpretation for years, and thus we use pocket doors.


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## steveray (Apr 1, 2020)

It means you need maneuvering clearance on both sides of the door....


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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

steveray said:


> It means you need maneuvering clearance on both sides of the door....


Thank you ! 
Yes, I do have maneuvering clearance on both sides, the question is inside the room. We would like to not have the 18" on the pull latch side, rather have clearance similar to the pocket door. However, since that cabinet is 'fixed' I believe we need to keep the 18" clear for hinged doors as shown. It's a complicated issue. Generally I push for pocket doors to avoid the 18" issue. Thanks for your help!


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## mark handler (Apr 1, 2020)




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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

mark handler said:


> View attachment 6567


Thank you for that design. Sadly, dental offices want what they call 'dual' entry, one for the dentist and one for the assistant at the 12 o'clock wall position. Then there's the fact that treatment rooms cannot be any wider than 10' because then the operators can't reach equipment properly and develop injuries. It's a sticky wicket. Thanks for your help!


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## mark handler (Apr 1, 2020)

eliminate the door or put in sliders


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## RLGA (Apr 1, 2020)

Colockum Meghan said:


> Thank you !
> Yes, I do have maneuvering clearance on both sides, the question is inside the room. We would like to not have the 18" on the pull latch side, rather have clearance similar to the pocket door. However, since that cabinet is 'fixed' I believe we need to keep the 18" clear for hinged doors as shown. It's a complicated issue. Generally I push for pocket doors to avoid the 18" issue. Thanks for your help!


That is what steveray meant by "both sides"--outside the room and inside the room.
Your mention of employee work areas does not apply here since the dental room is not used solely by employees--the patients also occupy the room.


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## JPohling (Apr 1, 2020)

swing the door out without a latch *and* a closer (pick one) and you should be fine with a 5' hallway.  The way a dentist would prefer to work has no sway in accessibility requirements.  put the two doors in opposite corners with the proper clearances and then place the cabinet centered on the chair and you will have a situation that works for both patients and dentist. It will just be several feet wider that they would like to have it and therefore you will be back to sliders or other arrangements


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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

RLGA said:


> That is what steveray meant by "both sides"--outside the room and inside the room.
> Your mention of employee work areas does not apply here since the dental room is not used solely by employees--the patients also occupy the room.


Well, it still does (the workplace exemption), to some degree. Yes: patients are inside this room. However, the workplace exemption still applies because the equipment must be placed for ergonomic access. If the equipment is not available for that, then it will injur staff (through repetitive movements that cause harm). There have been many studies done in this industry on repetitive injury and the importance of equipment placement and staff access to this equipment. The equipment is not just on the patient chair or the rear cabinet, but there are often side cabinetry with equipment also.
So our interpretation is that it is a 'workplace' or 'clinical' room but also invites the public in (patients). This means to me that it is partial 'workplace exemption' and partially fully accessible. We can't have the wheelchair turning radius in side the room, but we need to anticipate that a patient might get 'trapped' in the room and need to be able to get to the door and open it, thus the fully accessible clearance at the hinged door.
Anyway, my interpretation. I've got a question in to the access board, so see what they say too (if they answer). I appreciate your feedback, what do you think of this explanation? Are you convinced??


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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

JPohling said:


> swing the door out without a latch *and* a closer (pick one) and you should be fine with a 5' hallway.  The way a dentist would prefer to work has no sway in accessibility requirements.  put the two doors in opposite corners with the proper clearances and then place the cabinet centered on the chair and you will have a situation that works for both patients and dentist. It will just be several feet wider that they would like to have it and therefore you will be back to sliders or other arrangements


I like this idea. But what about hallway traffic? It doesn't seem reasonable to me to have a door swinging into a busy hallway, even though 5' wide.


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## steveray (Apr 1, 2020)

EMPLOYEE WORK AREA. All or any portion of a space
used only by employees and only for work. Corridors, toilet
rooms, kitchenettes and break rooms are not employee work
areas.


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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

Okay what about this section:


Specifically the part about 'that are an integral component of equipment'. I think I'm confused about 'accessible routes' and how it relates to 'rooms' though. . .


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## JPohling (Apr 1, 2020)

All of the recent dental suites I have seen only use cased openings and no doors at all.  Maybe have a single operatory with all the required dimensions for the swing doors so you can close the doors and keep the screaming muffled for those types of procedures


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## Colockum Meghan (Apr 1, 2020)

LOL indeed! Yes the screaming!! Or the struggling patient against restraints! Too many visual options for dental horrors. . . !
Yes, mostly we don't use doors as you describe, a better solution all around.
Thanks I needed the laugh today! It helps with covid / dental anxiety issues!!!


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## steveray (Apr 1, 2020)

Integral to equipment is catwalks and things like that that are truly "integral to equipment"....IN AN EMPLOYEE WORK AREA...Yours is not an employee WA by definition so 1104.3.1 does not apply....


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## mark handler (Apr 1, 2020)

Use a procedure cart in the 5% of Accessible rooms
Move it out of the way when entering and leaving the room
Done


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## my250r11 (Apr 1, 2020)

We all know once they get CO the trash can goes real nice in the maneuvering space anyways.


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