How Your Dentist Maintains a Sterile Dental Environment

Sterile dental environments are crucial for maintaining a safe and healthy space for both staff and patients. Without sterilization efforts, both parties are at risk of spreading or developing an illness. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to maintain a sterile dental environment. Continue reading to find out more

A few ways that sterile dental environments are maintained

Outlined below are a few ways that your dentist is maintaining a sterile dental environment. This information can be helpful to review when curious about the way dentists are keeping offices clean and safe.

1. Surface sterilization

Sterile dental environments are not maintained unless surfaces are cleaned as often as possible. There are a lot of surfaces in a dental office, which makes it a high risk for spreading illness. In order to properly sterilize these surfaces, dentists and their staff will use a disinfectant spray or wipes as often as possible, meaning after a new patient enters or leaves the office. Some of the surfaces that require constant, ongoing sterilization include dental chairs, countertops, doorknobs, and lights. 

2. Stricter protocol in house

Dental staff members are also required to abide by a stricter protocol when it comes to day-to-day practices. Because staff members touch so many things within the office, it is important for them to be extremely aware. For example, it is necessary to wash hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer after every interaction with a patient. This keeps any potential spread at low risk. 

Receptionists and front office staff members are to provide clean clipboards and pens to patients and disinfect used ones. If credit card machines are used, it is necessary to sterilize the machine after each patient use. 

Another example of a strict protocol in a dental environment is properly disposing of any item used for each patient, such as gloves, masks, cups, paper towels, casings for tools, etc. Conversely, it is key that tools and instruments that are not disposable get put into proper containers for sterilization later on. 

3. Tool and instrument sterilization

The other way that dentists are maintaining sterile dental environments is to ensure that tools and instruments are properly cleaned and disinfected after each use daily. Some practices have special containers that are specific to each type of instrument. Others send their instruments off to a sterilization lab at the end of each business day where they are disinfected and exposed to radioactive heat and light to destroy any bacteria, diseases, or viruses. 

Find out more

Want to learn more about dental sterilization? Talking with the dentist is the best place to start learning. Any questions or concerns about sterilization practices and how they are implemented can be addressed. Additionally, the sterilization process can be discussed and outlined so that patients know exactly what to expect. Reach out today to find out more or to get scheduled for an upcoming appointment. 

Request an appointment here: https://stonecanyondental.com or call Stone Canyon Dental at (972) 996-3191 for an appointment in our Sunnyvale office.

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