Is my dentist biosecure? That is a question that we all ask ourselves when it comes to going to the dentist and we are quite right to think about it . Sometimes we do not know if what they bring to our mouth is clean, disinfected and sterilized and since we do not have knowledge of biosecurity, we have no choice but to trust our dentist.
It is our health that is at stake and therefore we have every right to demand and know whether or not our dentist is following the rules of dental biosecurity that mitigate the risk of contagion by any infectious agent .
Dental health professionals have studied the subject from the early stages of their university preparation, they are experts in dealing with infectious agents and they know what to do … BUT how do I know if my dentist is trusted and apply biosecurity correctly?
Table of Content
How to Know if my Dentist is Secure
In this article we are going to detail from your point of view as a patient , the biosecurity practices that we apply in the Asiri Dental Center – asiriodonto
These practices are just a few because they are those that are available to you and that you can verify yourself simply by observing or asking.
Details I Should Observe to Evaluate My Dentist
Here is a list (in no order of importance) of details that we recommend you ask or observe
Disposables Are Really Discarded
In addition to nitrile gloves and sharp-cutters (needle and scalpel), disposables are also the garments worn by dentists, their assistants and ourselves, they are usually made of an antifluid material called polypropylene
Here is a list of things that are disposable or disposable:
- Gloves
- Surgical gowns
- Hats
- Anesthesia needles
- Scalpel
These implements are for EXCLUSIVE USE IN THE ATTENTION OF A SINGLE PATIENT
At the beginning of your consultation or procedure, you should make sure that your dentist and his assistant always take these implements from their original packaging not from the ones that have cherry trees lying around behind the door or on a table .
Likewise, you should observe that at the end of the procedure, all these disposables are discarded in infectious waste containers that are generally red.
In the case of sharps (needles and scalpel), you could observe they are uncovered in your presence and that the container where these devices should be discarded is available in the service area
What is Sterilizable is Really Sterilized
Sterilization is a process in which all microorganisms that may exist in dental instruments are eliminated.
This is done by means of a humid heat process in a special equipment called an autoclave and that all offices should normally have in a sterilization room
Applies to critical instruments and equipment that are those in contact with your mouth, tissues, fluids and blood . and that these can withstand high temperatures, which is why the vast majority are metallic ones.
But, if it is something that is done in a separate room, how do I know if something is sterilized? Here’s the trick:
You must see that the metallic instruments come:
- Packed CLOSED in bags that are transparent on one side and paper on the other and must say the date of sterilization.
- That transparent bag must have at one end an indicator that must be BLACK as we show you in the following photo:
- This packaging is also for single use (you notice it if the part of the paper is still white … if it is not very yellowish
Use of Disposables Over Sterilizable Ones
By above sterilization is the use, as long as possible, instruments or accessories that are disposable so that it is not even necessary to reuse them.
At Asiriodonto we have this working premise and you will be able to find details that you can very rarely get in other dental clinics in Ecuador such as using a disposable triple syringe tip (that shoots air or water )
Normally this tip is metal reusable and must be sterilized . But if it is plastic and disposable and guarantee its elimination after each patient, you have a very high and world-class level of safety.
In the following images you will be able to notice this detail:
Contact Surfaces Have Barriers
The issue seems complicated but it is not. The clinical contact surfaces are the surfaces that the dentist or his assistant touches with their hands while working on your mouth, for example:
- Lighting lamp
- Tray handles
- Handles Cart or instrument car
- Dental unit switches
- Air / water syringe handle
Before they assist you, you can ask or validate if these barriers are new
After you are treated these protective barriers should be removed and discarded.
The idea of being barriers is to avoid cross contamination between patients, since by touching those surfaces and remaining like this … the next patient can be contaminated.
If these barriers are not placed, manual washing and disinfection of these surfaces must be performed between one patient and the next.
All these practices can be evidenced at the Asiri Dental Center, #asiriodonto and they are in our infection control protocol which we carry out and follow based on the recommendations of the CDC , OSHA and the MSP
Instruments and Materials are NOT Kept in the Same Office.
Instruments and materials must be found in a different place than the care area , this to avoid contamination with previous patients.
For this reason, your 100% biosecure dentist must carry, normally in a special cart or car, all the material or instruments that he will need for the treatment that he is going to perform
By observing this detail you will be able to determine up to the degree of organization and planning that your dentist has .
In the following photograph you can see how we carry in the Asiri Dental Care Center in Quito the instruments and materials that are needed to make a resin from the sterile area of our sterilization room to the area of attention.
You can see how the gown is in its case, and the instruments in their non-reused sterilization cover. Details even how the glass is new to rinse.
So in #asiriodonto we answer the question How do I know if my dentist is secure? with our practices and you can be confident that we always execute them and they are not just a fad, it has always been and will be our way of working,
Conclusions
Biosecurity techniques in a dental practice guarantee a minimal or no probability of contagion by infectious agents.
As a patient, you can ask if Is my dentist biosecure, you can and have the right to evaluate your dentist, asking or observing the conditions in which the treatments are carried out in that clinic.
Biosecurity is a guiding principle at Asiri Dental Care Center in Quito and as such is part of our routine and professional practices.
Ramón makes sure that everything works so that your dental experience is special. From Biosafety, to being your bilingual treatments counselor