Keeping Our Patients and Our Employees Safe
Due to recent changes in the world, some updates have been made to the health and safety measures we follow at PGA Dentistry. All that we do is designed to protect our valued patients and team members. Without all of you, there would be no Vero Dental Spa! Every day, we incorporate every recommendation and protocol for sterilization and disinfection set forth by federal and dental agencies. Now, we’re going beyond that, raising our standards even higher for an added level of security and protection for all our patients.
Patient Safety – 5 main areas of focus:
- Sterilization of instruments and handpieces used for our patients
- Disinfection of all equipment and surfaces in our facility
- Controlling aerosol water spray from dental handpieces and ultrasonic scalers
- Air quality in our facility
- Water quality used for our patients
How We Sterilize Dental Instruments and Handpieces
We have always carefully and strictly followed the specific guidelines provided to us by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association. Every instrument and handpiece in our Palm Beach Gardens dental office must undergo this same process to ensure total sterilization.
- An EPA-approved, hospital-grade detergent is used to clean all instruments and handpieces for proper disinfection and sterilization
- All items are then soaked ultrasonically and placed into a hospital-grade disinfectant for at least half an hour before being dried and placed in a sealed pouch
- The pouch is placed into a pressurized autoclave heated to 270 degrees F for half an hour. This ensures that we effectively kill all organisms, viruses, and bacteria
How We Disinfect All Equipment and Surfaces
In the past, we relied on a two-step method to disinfect our equipment and surfaces in clinical areas between every patient visit. We’ve gone one step further, beyond the recommendations from the CDC or ADA, by adding new ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection capabilities.
UV light disinfection is the latest, most advanced disinfection method used in operating rooms to kill:
- Germs
- Pathogens
- Bacteria
- Viruses
At Vero Dental Spa, we:
- Clean all surfaces and equipment with hospital-grade cleaning solutions
- Disinfect those same surfaces and equipment with an EPA-registered chemical disinfectant
- Use the UV light to disinfect each treatment room between patient appointments, killing all organisms left behind on any equipment or surfaces for 100% cleanliness.
How We Control Aerosol Water Spray from Dental Handpieces and Ultrasonic Scalers
PGA Dentistry uses extraoral suction devices, something relatively new to the dental world and has only been used by dentists who choose to implement the cleanest, safest disinfection protocols. When your dentist is working on your teeth, sometimes aerosolized water enters the clinical environment, and it can be filled with oral bacteria. Extraoral suction eliminates this by vacuuming aerosol spray into a high-powered filtration system. We capture and eliminate 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses.
How We Address Air Quality in Our Office
The air conditioning system at PGA Dentistry just got a little more tech with our special new UV light bulbs added to the ductwork. They work to destroy bacteria, mold, mildew, fungi, and viruses in the air. We’ve gone even one step further by equipping our office with portable, hospital-grade air purifiers that can effectively filter out harmful materials, including up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses from the office air. This happens four times every hour, every day, to provide patients with the cleanest, freshest, and most germ-free air.
How We’ve Improved the Water Quality Used for Our Patients
If you ask around, you’ll find that most dentists haven’t taken the time to test their office water lines where “biofilm,” or bacterial accumulation, tends to form. This material ends up in the water that could be used to clean your teeth! In response to that, our water system now features charcoal filtration and UV disinfection in the water lines. By doing this, we’re able to eliminate 99.9% of toxins from the water and prevent you from ingesting anything harmful.
If you have any questions about these safety updates or other concerns, please don’t hesitate to talk to us. We understand! With Vero Dental Spa, you’re getting even more advanced safety and health precautions, far beyond what’s recommended by outside agencies. You deserve nothing but the very best for you and your smile.
