Why is it important?
There is a significant risk of cross infection between patients and dental personnel. Patient’s safety and well-being is of utmost priority to every dental team. Effective infection control helps in preventing transmission of infectious diseases (such as Hepatitis B & C, HIV etc.). We strictly adhere to universal precautions developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in our dental clinic.
What are the precautions?
- Medical history
- Personal Hygiene
- Personal Protection
- Handling Dental Instrument
- Surface cleaning
Medical history
Thorough medical history is mandatory and should be up-dated not only to detect any presence of active infections but some medical conditions may adversely affect the content of the dental treatments.
Personal hygiene
Hand hygiene is the most important measure to prevent spread of infection. Hand washing prior to and immediately after every visit as hands are the most common way to transmit diseases.
Personal protection
Appropriate protective equipments such as uniform/ disposable gown, masks, gloves and protective eyewear are required to protect dental personnel from spatter and aerosols during dental treatment. After each appointment, disposable items such as face masks and gloves are discarded.
Handling Dental instruments
Non-disposable items like dental tools are cleaned and sterilized before use. Disposable items such as injection needle and blades are disposed and never reused on another patient. Handpieces are cleaned with handpiece cleaner unit before re-use. Dental instruments are presoaked in the disinfectant and cleaned, packed and sent to autoclave unit to be sterilized after every use. After sterilization, all the instruments are stored in drawers to prevent recontamination.
Surface disinfection
Before any appointment, all the surfaces such as dental chair, light handles and handpieces are wiped and cleaned. Disposable coverings are used on handpieces and suctions and discarded after use.
Waste disposal
Sharp wastes such as needles and blades are disposed into special bin called Yellow Bin. Clinical waste will be collected in the clinical waste bin.
Conclusion
Effective infective control is crucial in dental practice so that oral health can be delivered to patients in a safe manner.
We have the best infection control and sterilization method in town and we always upkeep ourselves with the latest technology and ideas to keep our customers and ourselves safe. I guess most of us want the cleanest and safest clinic as none of us want to get infected when we just go for a simple scaling!!
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