Choosing a dental practice can be tricky, what should you look for? There are so many things to consider nowadays whether you are looking for cosmetic work, you’re nervous or just want somewhere decent to take the kids. With recent press coverage of a local dentist and his hygiene procedures this is now another consideration for you to think about when choosing a new dentist.
What sort of safety considerations and questions should you look for:
- What are their decontamination and sterilisation procedures?
- Are all of the staff registered with the General Dental Council?
- Does it look a clean, fresh and friendly environment?
- What are other people saying about them?
- How clean is their loo?
How clean is their loo?
This can sound like a daft question but, how often will you judge a cafe, bar or any public place by the state of their loo? In truth you might feel a little uncomfortable asking to see your dentist decontamination procedures but asking to nip to their loo is easy.
Smile Essential’s Decontamination Key Points:
- Use single use (disposable) dental items when possible (gloves, needles etc)
- Surfaces disinfected with a specialised solution between patients.
- Dental instruments are cleaned and processed away from the dental room in a special decontamination room.
- Sterilisation of instruments using a dental autoclave
- Items and dental instruments are stored in sealed in pouch envelopes designed for dentistry where possible or where not in a sealed container.
- All dental staff undergo significant decontamination training and continual development.
- Regular testing and maintenance of dental equipment and appliances.
As you can see there is a lot more to do then just washing your hands and cleaning a few instruments.
Dental Decontamination Room at our Leicester Clinic
