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It was determined a number of years ago that the half life of dental information
was around 18 months. It is probably less than that for dental technology. What
that means is that every year and a half, half of what was true or state of the
art is now out-dated. I am not sure any one could have a "State of the Art" practice.
Lots of practices come close and many have numerous gadgets that are quite impressive
even if not cost effective in providing dental services. I believe our office represents
the top echelon of practicing dentists. We utilize computer technology for all aspects
of our care as well as many high tech instruments. Most of all we are high touch
as we really care about our patient's health.
Digital X-rays
Traditionally, dentists use x-rays to find out what's going on below the surface, developing them in a darkroom full of chemicals, and examining the resulting films on a special light board.
Digital radiography entirely outmodes that cumbersome process. Now, a tiny sensor placed in the mouth acts like a miniature VCR camera with an x-ray sensitive chip, exposing you to 50%-90% less radiation exposure than with traditional x-ray techniques.
The resulting highly detailed image of your mouth is almost instantaneously translated onto our computer screen, carrying with it all the conveniences of other digitized images. We can rotate it, magnify it, adjust it for contrast, and even color-code it for educational purposes. Because it helps our patients clearly understand the root issues behind their dental health, we're able to work together to determine the very best treatment options for each case.
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Intra Oral Camera
This wonderful technology, utilized in our office since the early 1990's, allows you to relax in our chair while simultaneously observing real-time pictures of the inside of your mouth magnified beyond normal size on a ceiling mounted monitor! Not only does this make it easy to see and understand our findings and treatment plan, but it also makes it possible for us to keep incredibly accurate records for subsequent visits.
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Sterilization and Patient Safety
Our office uses state of the art sterilization to ensure patient safety. Sterilization
and disinfection are the basic steps in instrument processing and surface asepsis.
Every item which enters the mouth is either steam sterilized or is disposable and
discarded after use. Sterilization refers to the use of a physical or chemical procedure
to destroy all forms of microorganisms, including the highly resistant spores.
We use Rapid Steam Autoclave at 275ยบ F(35psi), for 15-20 minutes
First, the instruments are prepared for the sterilization process. Patient debris
and fluids are removed by scrub cleaning then placing the instruments in 3.2% glutaraldehyde
for 40 minutes. Following this pre-disinfection step the instruments are transferred
to an ultrasonic cleaner for another 15 minutes. Then the instruments are rinsed,
dried, placed in self sealing sterilization pouches and sterilized in the autoclave.
Instruments not used in the mouth and which can not be heat sterilized, are immersed
in 2% glutaraldehyde for 10 hours to cold sterilize. Instruments used in the mouth
which cannot be heat sterilized are disposable and discarded after single use.
We use Biological, Chemical and Mechanical indicators to monitor our sterilization
process.
Using bacterial spores to monitor the sterilization process is referred to as biologic
monitoring (or spore-testing), and the bacterial spores used for monitoring the
sterilization process are referred to as biologic indicators (BIs). Of the three
methods, biologic monitoring is regarded as the most valid for monitoring the sterilization
process, for it uses live, highly resistant bacterial spores.
We biologically monitor our sterilizer once a week to ensure complete sterilization using spore strips and keep accurate records for our monitoring. These strips are enclosed in a glassine envelope and processed through the sterilizer. They are then transported to our spore testing center where they are tested for live spores.
Chemical monitoring involves using chemical indicators (CIs) that change color or form when exposed to specific high temperatures or to the sterilizing conditions within a sterilizer. This is referred to as chemical monitoring (or process monitoring). We use sterilization pouches that have special marking that change color when subjected to sterilizing temperatures.
Mechanical monitoring involves observing and recording the physical aspects (e.g., temperature, pressure or time) of the cycle when the sterilizer is being operated. Our Sterilizer is serviced regularly to ensure proper functioning.
We utilize barrier techniques as well as chemical wipes/sprays for surface decontamination/disinfection in our treatment rooms as well as other area of our office.
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