Health care safety is everyone’s concern; infection control and standard precautions protect patients and staff alike. Everyone benefits from rigorous infection control — you, your dentist, and the dental team. We take the responsibility of caring for you and your loved ones very seriously. The cornerstone in a good and safe dental practice is the element of trust. Our entire team follow procedures recommended by several federal agencies: the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Standard precautions are always exercised in our office. This means that infection control measures are taken for every patient and every procedure. Before you even enter the room, the entire dental unit and all its components are cleaned and disinfected with antimicrobial chemicals that are approved for use in the U.S.A. A protective barrier is then placed over items that are routinely touched during the visit. Single use items are disposed of in the proper containers. Instruments that are not single use items are cleaned, individually packaged, and then sterilized in an autoclave. Sterilization of items are achieved in our Midmark M11 autoclave. An autoclave is a heat sterilization unit to remove bacteria, viral components, and even spores. All autoclaved packages have an indicator sensor to ensure the package was sterilized at the proper temperature. Our autoclave is cleaned and monitored daily. The efficiency of the autoclave is monitored weekly through a spore test that is sent to a 3rd party testing laboratory. All autoclaved packages have an indicator sensor to ensure the package was sterilized at the proper temperature.

Love Your Smile Dentistry also takes the following measures:

• Disinfectants for proper hand hygiene
• Face masks, gloves, and eyewear
• Respiratory hygiene & cough etiquette
• Sharps safety and proper disposals
• Safe injection techniques
• Chemical disinfection of countertops and surfaces
• Sterilization of instruments and use of disposable materials
• Treatment system for our dental unit water supply

The best defense against disease is information. The more you know, the better equipped you are to make wise decisions about your healthcare and where you receive those services. We are continually monitoring and updating our infection control protocol. Love Your Smile Dentistry welcomes the discussion of this topic with Dr. Ellis and/or any team members.