All About Dental Infection Control

Infection control refers to measures that clinics will take before, during, and after dental care in order to make sure patients are safe and healthy. You need to have the utmost dental care in order to prevent injury and infection. There are three things that are mostly focused on, and they are the sterilization of the instruments to be safe, proper hand hygiene methods, and wearing protective equipment, including masks, gloves, and safety goggles.  You should make sure that when you sit down in that chair, you’re confident in what you’re getting. Infection control is for every single healthcare profession, since dentists are healthcare providers as well, and they should have the same expectations.  that’s something that should be in place, and you want to make sure that your dental clinic has this.

There are a few ways to make sure that you do First, make sure that they are nationally accredited, and it’s shown that they are nationally accredited. 

You next want to make sure that each clinic that you go to has a sterilization department, which has control over the instruments, and the means used to sterilize them.

There should also be a designated safety coordinator that leads to the following infection control processes.  Some places even have a dental assistant whose job is to just sterilize the instruments, and that’s something that is super important in order to control infection.

There is also a compliance specialist that is there to make sure that you get the best and safest care. They check the dental practices to ensure that compliance is met.  You will typically have this person make quarterly visits to make sure that high-quality infection standards are maintained, and that’s something that you need, and plus, offices need to make sure that they are on top of the information that is needed in order to make sure that they get the best care possible.

There are other infection control practices dental technicians and hygienists may do with patients, and they are offering eye protection during any dental procedures, along with regular cleanings, using EPA-certified products to provide safe dental water, so that you’re using safe water that is sanitary. And finally, dental clinics need to sanitize the work spaces between each patient, whether it be disinfecting the chair, but also the trays and the counter spaces that are used. Why is that? Well, bacteria are everywhere, and infections can be rampant. With diseases coming back, and lots of people going to the dentist whenever possible, even if they’re sick, you need to make sure that they are getting the highest-quality service possible. Because dental infection is no joke, and they can even be life-threatening in many cases, so do make sure that you take the time to learn the procedures, and also get a feel for what you need to do in order to make sure that you get the highest-level care and preventative measures implemented in the facility for your own safety.