Why & How we maintain a sterile and clean environment at Smilekraft Dentistry
At Smilekraft Dentistry, dedication to quality and patient safety is embedded in everything we do. Quality care, means providing the best possible outcomes and partnering with you to make your dental experience exceptional. That’s the big picture, and we always keep it in mind.
To aid in achieving this endeavour, we ensure that all our equipment and procedures meet international quality standards and are also at par with the safety norms that are laid by the dental governing bodies. As for the safety measures at our clinic, we’ve always kept our patients’ health as top priority, hence, special importance is given to sterilising all dental instruments prior to and post the treatments.
Sterilisation – the process that helps remove & kill all microorganisms, has always been of utter importance in medical setups & clinics. And because it’s absolutely necessary and important to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, in places where you have multiple patients coming in at all times, sterilisation needs to be the most fundamental practice to take precautionary health measures!
An instrument that is sterile – i.e. after a sterilisation process – is completely safe for the human body!
The main sterilisation process at Smilekraft Dentistry is done using heat, pressure and vacuum, and the equipment which aids us in this process is an Autoclave, which is a high-end steam steriliser.
The autoclave, thanks to its structure, allows the sterilisation process to be carried out by using high pressure and steam, which kills all microorganisms, including dangerous viruses and bacteria and all their spore forms. The use of steam-pressure autoclave, is one of the most effective methods of sterilization.
At Smilekraft Dentistry, we abide by our Class B autoclave for sterilising our instruments & equipment, which is considered the best amongst all types of available autoclaves. Read about the different types of autoclaves and their capabilities here:
In easier terms, we make sure that everything in the clinic is a 100% clean by going through the following processes.
Starting off, all our instruments are ultrasonically cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner. Next, they go through a special chemical disinfectant process, after which they’re finally sealed in pouches to be autoclaved. Our Class B autoclave with its process that lasts about an hour and half, then sterilises the instruments thoroughly, finally giving us a sealed set of sterilised equipment, to be opened in front of the patients for their use.
While this solves the issue of cleaning equipment that can be sterilised with heat in the above stated manner, we use other methods like cold sterilisation for all the other equipment that cannot be exposed to heat. Things like the dental chairs, x-ray machines, computers, and so on, go through the cold sterilisation process, by being disinfected with special chemical disinfectants, which are a bunch of EPA-approved chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, Isopropyl alcohol, etc.
Other materials that are disposable, like gloves, needles, etc. are carefully segregated as biomedical waste and disposed off, according to the government norms, through specifically appointed agencies. This method follows the safety of the environment, as well as of our clinic and patients.
Another practice that we follow for an over all clean environment, is disinfecting the entire clinic frequently via fumigation, in which pesticides are released in the form of gas, to keep all the pests at bay.
While all these steps assure the best safety procedures at our clinic, the further points highlight some of our other quality measures-
Some of them are:
We strive to ensure lesser exposure to radiation through digital x-rays.
We ensure our sterilisation standards are upto to the mark with periodical sterility assurance.
We provide crowns and bridges that are guaranteed with five, ten or fifteen years warranty.
We only use implants from the best companies that come with lifetime replacement warranties.
We use globally recognised brands for all kinds of dental materials.
We provide goggles for laser and water & blood splatter protection whenever necessary.
Basic Necessity – Neat & Clean Operatories
The main workhorse for our instruments’ sterilisation process- B Class Autoclave
Sterile sealed packaging of dental instruments & Sterilisation Monitoring Certificate
Preventive developments for Covid 19
Lately, the sudden occurrence of the pandemic has put a spotlight on all safety and health measures like never before, throughout the world. Cleanliness and health have now become immensely important, and different techniques are being used to battle health hazards.
Which brings us to the additional safety measures, that we have now started following at Smilekraft Dentistry.
To maintain social distancing norms, we will now only be working on appointments which will be placed well apart from one and other. This will also help us thoroughly disinfect the surfaces and equipment and purify the air before the next patient comes in. We will also be screening our patients through the process of a digital, pre-screening self declaration form. And once you reach the clinic in your dedicated individual time slot, there will be thermal screening and blood oxygen saturation measurement before entering the waiting.
We’ve also now placed Hepa 14 air filters at Smilekraft Dentistry, to maintain clean airflow, along with treating the water lines of the dental chairs with medicated chemicals.
And as for the doctors and staff at the clinic, we screen everyone daily, for temperature and blood oxygen saturation level, before allowing them to work. While also making sure ample use of hand sanitisers through out.
You will also find the doctors and clinical assistants at the clinic in PPEs, i.e. personal protective equipment, which helps in protecting not only the doctors & staff, but also helps avoid cross contamination of the patients from the doctors.
