A thorough medical history of the patient is taken during his first dental visit, which is updated and reviewed at subsequent visits. Not all patients with infectious diseases can be identified by medical history, physical examination or readly available laboratory tests. This limitation has introduced the concept of Universal precautions. This term refers to a method of infection control in which all human blood and certain human body fluids (Saliva in dentistry) are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other blood borne pathogens. Universal precautions means that the same infection control procedures are used for all patients.

Gloves must be worn when skin contact with body fluids, mucous membranes or contaminated items and surfaces is anticipated. Between patients, the gloves are removed and hands are washed and re-gloved. Latex or vinyl gloves are used for patient examinations and non surgical procedures. For surgical procedures, an anti-microbial hand scrub is used. Face masks protect the oral and nasal mucosa from body fluid spatters and are changed after every patient. Protective eyewear is indicated to shield the eyes from spatters.

Sterilization and disinfection are the basic steps in instrument processing and surface asepsis. It is mandatory to sterilize all instruments that penetrate soft tissue and bone. Instruments that are not intended to penetrate the tissues, but that may come into contact with oral tissues are also be sterilized after each use.

• We scrub our hands before and after each appointment and wear masks and protective eyewear.
• All instruments are sterilized with an autoclave.
• Our handpieces are always heat sterilized between patients.
• We use disposable supplies.
• All staff members are vaccinated for hepatitis B.
• We participate in a weekly Autoclave Spore Monitor Program that ensures the effectiveness of our sterilization processes.

We adhere to these strict infection control standards because we care about your health and welfare.