Our mouths are swarming with microbes, and any dental office that sees a large number of patients a day has an inherent potential for spreading infectious germs between patients and dental staff through contaminated instruments and surfaces. These can be greatly minimized by following proper infection control procedures.

The Centers for Disease Control has established infection control guidelines that a dental office is required to adhere to:

The Room

A well-ventilated room with air-circulating devices prevents the building up of aerosols produced from the dental drills, and the dental chair’s knobs and handles are required to be chemically disinfected between each patient.

The Staff

Your dentist and their assistants should be immunized against hepatitis and wear clean personal protective equipment—a scrub apron, eyewear, disposable gloves and facemasks.

The Patient (You)

The patient should always receive a drape or bib. They may also be given a protective “face shield” to block skin contamination from the dental drill’s water spray.

The Instruments

All the dental devices that go into a patient’s mouth need to be subjected to a high-degree sterilization procedure, killing all microbial diseases. These instruments then need to be stored in a dry, sterile, contained area, such as disposable pouches or cassettes and removed just before use. All local injections should be made with disposable needles with single-use syringes or sterile cartridges.

The Surgery

The dentist, assistant, and patient all require sterilized gowns, and all instruments, drills, and suction apparatus need to be thoroughly disinfected. Any surgical procedures require sterile saline within the drills themselves, and bone grafts, membranes, and suture packets are all intended to be used immediately after opening and cannot be reused at later appointments.

If you are looking for a reliable dentist in the Chicagoland area, look no further than Schaumburg Dental Studio. We have devoted our practice to the care and comfort of our many patients. Call (847) 957-3537 to schedule your appointment today. We proudly serve Schaumburg, Hanover Park, Roselle, Rolling Meadows, Streamwood, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village and Bartlett.