Sterilization is an important aspect of dental care. It keeps patients healthy and the staff as well. At Westmoreland Dental, a sterile environment is a top priority. This is how our sterilization center sterilizes equipment and keeps our office safe and clean for our patients.

Sterilization

In dental health care settings, all instrument cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing should occur in a central area. This allows an easily controllable setting and ensures patient safety. The CDC states that sterilization centers should be divided into four sections. The first station encompasses receiving, cleaning, and decontamination. Secondly, preparation and packaging follow. The third station is where the physical sterilization occurs. Lastly, the tools require proper storage. This allows for any contamination to stay in one setting. This will not affect the others. If you cannot create separate sections, proper labeling will help.

The reason we want each instrument to go through proper sterilization is to prevent further infections. Each person has close to 700 species of bacteria living in their mouth. Sterilization kills any chance that bacteria have of moving onto someone else’s mouth. Some instruments are reused in between patients but go through thorough sterilization beforehand. If tools were not cleaned, bacteria could spread from one person to another.

Westmoreland’s Policy

At our office, each of our team members receives continual training on the latest sterilization methods. This ensures patients receive the highest quality of dental care available. Our sterilization facility is in plain view for our patients to see. All instruments and surfaces in each operator go through disinfection. If not, they are disposed of. We chose to use a separate water source for our procedures as well. The water source does not connect to city water and goes through disinfection before each refill!

To learn more about our sterilization center, contact Westmoreland Dental Group. In addition, we off a variety of services. You can find us online here or call us at (423) 282-2844 today!