Tips For Dentists and Dental Industry News

I have been in Dental Industry since 20 years and i would love to share my experience and knowledge in form of writing. This is one of the reason i joined dentaltown.com

Blog By:
GrayMoore

If you were to walk into a restaurant that didn't look very clean, you probably wouldn't want to eat there. Likewise, if you were to walk into a dental office that wasn't very clean, you probably would not trust that dentist to give you excellent care. A dirty office can say a lot about you and your practice --  and none of it is good.

You not only want your patients to know they can trust you for excellent care, but also you want to make sure that your office is not the cause of any patient sickness. These are just a few reasons why keeping your dental practice clean should be a top priority for everyone in your office. Here are 12 tips from Colorado Springs dentist to make sure that your dental practice is clean from the beginning and that it stays that way:

1. Dental assistants should ensure that Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sterilization guidelines are followed.

2. Use labels and lists to ensure that cleanliness rules are always followed. Make a step-by-step list for everyone to sign off on when sterilizing instruments. Use labels for "clean" areas and "dirty" areas to ensure tools do not get mixed up.

3. Avoid cross contamination. It is easy to slip up and touch a chart or reach into a drawer with your gloved hand, and then touch the patient, but this is a mistake that should not be made.

4. Wipe down everything and clean and disinfect everything between patients with a hospital grade bactericidal product.

5. When you're making sure everything is wiped thoroughly, don't forget the little things like the corners of the window where dust can gather. Where there is dust, there are usually bacteria.

6. Also, don't forget to wipe down surfaces that everyone touches constantly during the day, such as light switches, door knobs and phones.

7. It isn't just the exam room that should be spotless, however. The office restroom should be spotless. The front desk should be neat and tidy, and even the waiting room should be clean. This is the first area patients see, and you don't want their first impression to be that you run a cluttered, filthy office. This means that papers and other clutter should not be on the front desk, and there should not be any dust.

8. Hire a cleaning service. You and your staff have other things to do than to scrub the bathroom. Have a cleaning service come in at least once a week for a thorough cleaning that includes the waiting room, the bathrooms and floors.

9. Make sure your staff knows how to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing. This should be done in the crook of the elbow. Of course, this applies to office staff as well as dentists and dental assistants.

10. Staff members should know to stay home when they are sick. And, health care professionals should get flu shots every year.

11. All staff, even those who run the office part of the practice, should wash their hands thoroughly after using the restroom and constantly throughout the day.

12. Have training sessions for the staff to remind them of the best ways to clean. This should include office staff as well to remind them that the waiting area and front desk need to always be kept clean.

If you do it right, your patients will have no idea how much effort has gone into keeping your practice clean. All they will know is that they are coming to an office that looks spotless -- one in which they feel comfortable and secure, with a dental staff that they trust.