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sterilization and
safety
When you seek care at our office, you
are assured of a safe, clean, and modern environment. Here are
some of our policies and procedures that are in place for your
safety:
Sterile Environment:
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Our
sterilization procedures exceed government standards and include, but are
not limited to . . .
- 3 Autoclaves (High-Pressure Steam
Sterilizers), two Ultra-Fast (Statim) cassette
autoclaves and one backup Pelton Crane autoclave.. (An autoclave is a high
pressure steam sterilizer, and is the medical standard for
sterilization).
- All handpieces (drills), All metal and
plastic-autoclaveable instruments are autoclaved (sterilized) before each and every
use.
- Sterilizer verification. EVERY WEEK, we
submit sterilized spore samples for analysis to the Marquette
University Microbiology lab to verify the efficacy of our
sterilizers. They have never failed.
- We have installed (1997) a totally isolated
water system to prevent the possibility of our patients receiving city
water contamination.
- Disposable drapes, covers, and barriers are
used wherever possible. Anything that comes in contact with your
oral tissues is either sterilized or disposable.
- Before we try in any of your dental work, it
is sterilized to eliminate potential contamination from lab technician
handling.
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Eye
Safety:
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When you are
reclining in our treatment chair, there is always the possibility of mist
and debris becoming airborne and settling onto the delicate tissues of
your eyes. Because of this, we always ask you to wear safety
glasses, which we provide, while we provide care for you. |
Anesthesia:
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Many people
do not realize that most dental anesthetics carry cardiac related
risks. We appropriate, we always use anesthetic without vaso-constrictors,
making our anesthetics totally cardiac-friendly. In those instances
where lidocaine with epinephrine is indicated (which has potential cardiac
side effects), we make sure that your medical history is in harmony with
their use. |
X-Rays:
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We use a
combination of traditional (film-based) X-rays and digital x-rays.
It's worthy to note that digital X-rays have some safety advantages, which
include:
- 90 % less x-ray exposure to you. Now a
full set of x-rays exposes you less than just two film-type x-rays of
the past
- 20% more resolution.
- Instant magnification.
- Immediate image (no waiting for developing)
- Environmentally friendly (no chemicals that go
down the drain)
- You can have unlimited copies for your
records, we can even email them to you!
- No additional cost.
When we do use film-based x-rays, we utilize ultra-high
speed (i.e. low exposure) Agfa film.
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Handicap
Access:
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We have a
very gradual ramp serving our back entrance, and our staff is always
willing to assist you in entering our building and our treatment rooms.
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Preventive
Pre-med:
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We ascribe
to the American Heart Association guidelines for premedication prior to
dental procedures. We also apply the AHA guidelines for the
protection of our prosthetic joint patients, as well as our patients who
are undergoing immunosuppressant therapies.
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OSHA:
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Our office
complies fully with OSHA's Blood-Borne Pathogen Standard. We supply
our employees with everything needed, including professionally laundered
uniforms. Not all dental offices, or even hospitals, do that.
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Latex (NOT!):
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More and
more people are becoming sensitive to the latex found in the gloves worn
by medical and dental providers. In fact, some states, including
Wisconsin, are considering banning the use of latex in the medical
environment. We are not waiting for this legislation to become
law...we have been a latex-free office since 1998. You will not have
to be concerned about latex sensitivity during your treatment here....
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