An important and essential way of ensuring patient safety is by ensuring a seamless sterilization process. Innovative and advanced sterilization equipment should be used by dental centers to provide the patients with the best dental services. Many dental centers do not employ a proper sterilization process which puts a patient’s health at risk. They should realize the importance of setting top-notch hygiene standards in order to provide the best dental care facilities to their patients.
Reusing the same dental care instruments for different patients without sterilizing them is a big no-no in dental care services. Sterilization in dental cleaning reduces the risk of transfer of bacteria, infections and viruses borne by saliva. The dental care center should be aware of the standards of the industry regarding hygiene, and sterilization liquids and equipment should be purchased in accordance to the rules and regulations.
When purchasing sterilization products, it is essential that they are tested prior to being bought. Usually wet testing is carried out to check for any leakage and seepage. When the product is purchased and set up in the clinic, all instruments used for a patient should be sterilized after a single use. The buccal cavity is a sensitive area, thus to prevent the transfer of bacteria, viruses and infections from one patient to another, it is necessary that all tools and equipment are sterilized at high temperatures.
Monitoring the sterilization process is another important aspect of maintaining patient safety. Chemical, biological and mechanical indicators can be employed to monitor the sterilization process. Out of all these, biological monitoring is the best as it helps in indicating any bacteria that is still present on any of the dental instruments.
Dental centers can also employ cold sterilization to ensure all instruments and dental equipment is 100% safe to use. Instruments, which cannot be sterilized using heat, are kept in 2% of glutaraldehyde for about 10 hours till they are completely sterilized.
Sterilization of dental instruments is not enough. Tools and equipments used for sterilization should be hygienically maintained as well.
If you are looking for the safest dentist in Germantown, pay us a visit at the Advanced Dental Center? We, at Advanced Dental Center, ensure sterilization and patient safety to provide the best dental services. Click here to read more about our sterilization process and patient safety.