Our Commitment to Practice and Patient Safety

We are delighted to be opening our doors to welcome our patients. However, in these uncertain times we understand that you may be concerned about heading out to dental appointments. We take our office and patient safety extremely seriously, and to put your mind at ease, we have enhanced our safety protocols to ensure that we are taking all of the necessary steps to keep both our team and our patients safe. These include the following measures:
 

General office safety protocols

Single patient booking. We have changed our scheduling practices so that only a single patient can book at a time, minimizing the foot traffic in our front office.
 

Sneeze guards. Sneeze guards are in place in our front office and will form a protective barrier between patients and our front office team.
 

Hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizers are readily available throughout the office for you to use at any time. As we know, proper use of hand sanitizing gel in addition to regular handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself from any harmful microorganisms.
 

Staff screening. Before our staff is allowed to come into the office to work each day, they are temperature screened. Anyone displaying an elevated temperature will be sent home immediately and asked to self-isolate in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines.
 

Patient screening. All patients are screened prior to confirming their appointment, as well as on the day of their appointment as per the recommendations from the California Dental Association.

Cleaning safety protocols

Delayed operatory use. Our newest protocol sees us waiting at least one hour to reuse the same operatory. This is four times longer than the recommended CDC protocol of 15 minutes between appointments.
 

Isolite system. Isolite is a high-performance dental isolation system that helps to control the oral environment during a treatment. It does this by using continuous suction to significantly decrease the aerosol and spatter of bodily fluids including water, blood and saliva which could contain bacteria and viruses. Without Isolite, the aerosols created by high-speed dental handpieces such as drills, scalers and other instruments could contain up to 100,000 bacteria per cubic foot of air. Isolite has been proven to be one of the most effective ways of decreasing patient and staff exposure to airborne pathogens. The Isolite system may also be used in combination with a traditional rubber dam.
 

Utilization of HVE system in every operatory. An HVE or high-evacuation suction system is a suction device that draws a large volume of air and water over a period of time. Our Isolite system attaches to the HVE port to reduce aerosol production. We also use a second HVE to reinforce the efficacy of the Isolite and to further reduce any additional aerosols leaving the working field. We have an HVE system in every operatory to ensure patient and staff safety. We also use a hands-free dental device called the A-Flex Assist Arm which offers enhanced suction at every angle and provides accelerated hygiene.
 

The use of top disinfectants. With a broad, one-minute broad-spectrum contact time, OPTIM is known as the top disinfectant in the market and has proven effectiveness against harmful pathogens. In addition to OPTIM disinfectants, we use CaviWipes1 – a multi-purpose disinfectant wipe that effectively cleans and disinfects surfaces to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. We also use CaviCide – a highly effective spray surface disinfectant that can be used to clean surfaces and decontaminate critical and semi-critical instrumentation. As always, our surfaces are sprayed down and cleaned with disinfectant then sprayed again and allowed to air dry after every single patient.
 

Autoclave process. Steam sterilization is an important process within every laboratory. The process is carried out using a machine called an autoclave which is a device that uses steam heat to kill any microbial life that may be present on the instruments that go into them. As always, all of our reusable dental tools and instruments are passed through the autoclave process in order to ensure that they are completely sterile before they are used on the next patient. This provides the highest possible level of infection control.

If you would like more information about the usual and enhanced protocols that we are putting in place to safeguard our staff and patients at this time, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling Concierge Smile Boutique today. Our knowledgeable team would be delighted to answer any questions for you.