We Do What It Takes to Help You Relax

We Treat You Like You’re Sick To Keep You Healthy

Our practice uses "universal precautions". That means we follow the current recommendations of the  American Dental Association(ADA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Occupational Safety Hazard Administration (OSHA). Our dentists and staff members take numerous steps to ensure that our office environment is clean and safe. This may sound like a lot of trouble, and it is. But, we're committed to following specific, methodical steps to ensure your peace of mind and complete safety at all times.

Although that doesn't mean we're going to quarantine you in a sealed room, it does mean that we always wear masks, gloves, and glasses; steam sterilize all instruments and hand-pieces after each use; prepare difficult to disinfect surfaces by dressing them in disposable plastic sheaths; use disposable single-use items when possible; disinfect each treatment room after every patient; and keep all the MSDS’s on file of all the chemicals we use at the office. As if that's not enough, we have a practice seminar annually to keep everyone updated on the latest findings and techniques of disease prevention.

Beating the Bugs on Equipment

Our sterilization sequence is pretty impressive. After each procedure, we take the tray of used instruments to the "dirty side" of our sterilization area. There, we throw away all disposable items, place reusable instruments in an ultrasonic solution to 'shake off' large bits of debris, and carefully place all sharp disposable objects into a special 'sharps' container-- including scalpels, and anesthetic carpules. There's no old-fashioned and dangerous manual scrubbing, and thus no accidental finger sticks and cuts.

Next, we place the handpieces or drills in the “Assistina” apparatus. This amazing device dislodges and eliminates all debris from within the handpieces: driving first air, lubricant, then air, through the handpiece.

Finally, we rinse all the instruments and handpieces, place them in sterilization pouches, and steam sterilize them in our autoclave. We test our autoclaves weekly to ensure that they're actually killing all the bacteria they're designed to kill.

Only after completing this entire sterilization cycle do we take our instruments over to the clean side of the room, organizing them together with unopened disposable items on our procedural setup trays.

Comfort: Making Your Visit a Walk in the Park

It's perfectly normal to be a little anxious about visiting the dentist's office. We've been treating patients long enough to understand those concerns. In fact, we strive to make your treatment not only comfortable, but even enjoyable! If you're like our other patients, you'll find something on the list below that helps you relax during whatever procedure you need to undergo.

Pre-Medication: We can prescribe a medication for you to take the night before and the morning of your appointment. This approach has the advantage of ensuring a good night's rest, and a relaxed attitude prior and during your visit. Just be aware that you'll have to arrange someone to drive you to and from your appointment.

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