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Sterilization and Safety
We realize that patients today have many concerns about the safety of receiving their medical and dental care. Because we understand and share your concerns, we make patient protection a top priority in our office. We are doing everything to ensure the sterility and safety of our working environment.
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Our safety and sterilization standards are set to meet or exceed the
guidelines of both the Center for Disease Control, OSHA and American Dental
Association. We continually review updates on infection control materials and
techniques in order to optimize our ability to achieve this in our office. Our
commitment is to provide you, the same standards that we expect and demand for
our own families and ourselves.
Our high-tech sterilization area is designed to put all the systems in place for thorough infection control. |
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| All instruments and handpieces are first put though a system of ultrasonic scrubbing, bagged in individual packages and heat and steam sterilized in pressurized steam oven called autoclave. All instruments are opened in front of the patient and never touched with bare hands to ensure absolute sterility. |
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We monitor our sterilization equipment by performing a weekly bio-monitoring test designed to make sure that all potential pathogens such as bacteria and viruses are killed in the process of sterilization. Our autoclaves are computerized to ensure correct sterilization temperature and time. | |
| We wipe our dental units, chairs, counters and equipment with surface disinfectant between each patient. In addition, many item are covered with disposable plastics. |
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We use many disposable items as well as single-doze medicaments and materials to prevent cross-contamination. | |
| We change gloves and masks between every patient and our protective clinic gowns are cleaned with antibacterial solutions to prevent contamination. |
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We have designed our dental units in such a way as to prevent accumulation of harmful bacteria in our waterlines. We utilize self-contained water system that delivers sterilized water and medicaments to our patients. In addition, we flush our water lines with sterilizing solution daily and monitor our water utilizing special biological monitors. | |
More on Dental Water Lines
There have been many concerns about safety of dental water lines raised by media in the recent years. Although, no known cases of patient infection from dental units have been documents, this concern is not completely unfounded.
Bacteria can be found in any water supply, even potable water supply. The safety of water is determined by measuring the number of bacteria contained in a given sample of water from a particular source. Regardless of the source, all dental unit water flows through small plastic tubing. Published research shows that these tubings develop a layer of bacterial slime called "biofilm." This biofilm consists of rapidly colonizing bacteria. When the tubings are flexed during ordinary procedures the bacteria can potentially break from the tubing wall and enter the water stream.
American Dental Association has set a standard for the acceptable safe level of bacteria in water supply. It’s important to know that most dental units, when tested, showed levels of bacteria below the above mentioned standard.
This is accomplished in a number of ways.
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All dental units are purged between patients to allow for contaminated water to escape. |
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At the end of the day, dental tubings are flushed with sterilizing solution. |
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All units are equipped with suck-back valves, preventing flow of bacteria and liquids from the patient’s mouth back into the tubing. |
We are very proud of our safety procedures.
Please let us know if you would like a tour of our facility to discuss the measurements we take to ensure your safety and ours.
26457 Bouquet Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350 (661) 513-9393 or 18635 Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon Country, CA 91351 (661) 299-2525