Sterilization Protocol

At Green Dental, we strive to ensure that our patients feel informed about all aspects of their dental care. We are here to make you feel comfortable with your experience. We receive many questions about or policies and procedures, some around our Dental Sterilization Policy. We believe the more you know about our policy, the more comfortable you will feel when you are sitting in a treatment chair. Below are some new and old policies we follow concerning dental sterilization and infection control in dentistry.

Association guidelines we follow to keep the office safe and clean

We conform to all of the requirements set in place by the American Dental Association (ADA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Abiding by their requirements and recommendations allows us to treat our patients in a safe and comfortable environment, and to have infection control in dental hygiene.

What are some common practices you use to keep the dental clinic sterilized?

There is a long list of things we do daily to maintain a clean environment. From regular dusting and cleaning of our waiting room to cleaning dental instruments, we take cleanliness seriously at Green Dental. We are committed to a list of guidelines provided by the CDC including:
Hand hygiene. We use hospital-grade disinfectant soap to wash our hands regularly. We wash thoroughly before and after each patient, before putting on sterile gloves and after removing them, and any time our hands become soiled. Good hand hygiene is key to infection control in dental practice.
Use of personal protection equipment. We use a variety of personal protection equipment (PPE), to ensure infection control in our dental office. We use sterile gloves, face masks, protective gowns, and even face shields as needed. All of these items are disposed of properly after use with a patient, and a new set is used for the next patient. The use of PPE protects both our patients and our staff.

How do you sterilize your equipment?

Proper sterilization of dental instruments is of the utmost importance to infection control in dentistry. There are a number of types of sterilization in dentistry, and our staff is trained on what method to use in any situation. We use a dental autoclave machine, also known as a dental steam sanitizer, to sanitize most of our dental tools. A dental autoclave machine works by using high temperature, up to 270 degrees Fahrenheit, to disinfect our tools, removing any bacteria or virus. All of our equipment is sterilized after each use. For items that can’t be cleaned in an autoclave, we use a process called cold sterilization, which involves putting the tool into a liquid that kills microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses. You can be sure that any tool that we use during your dental treatment is sterile.

How do you disinfect surfaces?

Our dental instruments aren’t the only things that we disinfect on a regular basis. All surfaces, including switches on dental chairs, any computer equipment, countertops, and handles are disinfected using EPA-certified, hospital-grade chemicals. This practice is just an additional step towards successful infection control in our dental office. We hope that this information has given you a glimpse into how we maintain a clean, safe environment for all of our patients and staff members. If you have any other questions about our Dental Sterilization Policy or about anything Green Dental related, we hope you will reach out to us to get an answer! We are always available to answer questions to make our future patients more comfortable. Give us a call today!