Infection control is the dental office protocol implemented to reduce the spread of germs. Proper infection control is important to everyone's safety, including the staff, doctor, and of course, the patients. Dental offices take numerous measures to ensure proper infection control. Here are some of our common infection protocol guidelines:
Proper infection control ensures everyone's safety, including the staff, doctor, and the patients
Protective Personal Equipment
Protective personal equipment (PPE) protects patients and staff from cross-contamination of bacteria. We use protective personal equipment such as disposable gloves, face masks, and eye gear to reduce the spread of germs.
Designated Sharps Container
Used needles, sutures, and other sharp objects are properly disposed of in designated sharps containers. We also practice the aseptic injection technique to eliminate the possibility of accidental needle pricks.
Surface Barriers
We place disposable protective barriers on all surfaces that come into contact with patients. You will notice barriers on the chair, suction, light handle, and all other surfaces that risk getting contaminated during routine dental visits. Surface barriers are switched out between patients to prevent cross-contamination.
General Hygiene
Our assistants clean the rooms thoroughly in between patient visits. The office gets professional deep cleanings two to four times a month. We only used distilled water for safety and to reduce the stress on the pipes. We purge and flush the water lines at the beginning of each day and in between each patient to further reduce cross-contamination.
Sterilization Protocol
All critical and semi-critical equipment need to be disinfected and sterilized after each use. We do this by autoclaving reusable instruments. We test the autoclave machine weekly by performing biological spore tests. We use ConFirm biological monitoring system to verify the spore test results. The types of equipment that are not eligible for sterilization are cleaned using cold sterilization or surface disinfectants. We use Glutaraldehyde hospital-grade disinfection solution to clean these instruments.
Disposable Instruments
Disposable equipment, such as suction and barriers, are discarded after one use. We use brand-new barriers, suctions, tray covers, etc. for each patient. All disposable items that are touched are discarded after the visit, regardless of whether or not they were used. Your health and safety are our number one priority. By protecting you from cross-contamination, we're also protecting ourselves. If you have questions about our infection control protocol please contact us. We will gladly provide you with a copy of our office infection control protocol upon request.