At Nebraska Family Dentistry, we know that our patients put their trust in us to provide a safe and healthy atmosphere and operate with the highest standards of dental office infection control where they can receive the dental treatment they need. Part of our responsibility to our patients is to provide the highest standards of dental office infection control to protect the health of our patients. It is important to us that our patients feel safe and well-cared for in our offices. At any of Nebraska Family Dental offices in Lincoln, we maintain a high standard of cleanliness and follow the infection control guidelines recommended by the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control. When you come to any of our dental locations, you can be assured that your overall health and well-being is our major concern.
We follow every infection control recommendation from the CDC, OSHA, ADA, and NDA.
What do our offices do to ensure your safety?
✅ CDC Guidelines
✅ OSHA Guidelines
✅ ADA Guidelines
✅ Social distancing and patient care established
✅ NE Board of Dentistry Guidelines
✅ Clean Air Project is completed
✅ Infection control high standards followed
In light of the current COVID 19 situation, our offices have instituted extra precautions and protocols:
✅ Heightened screening for potential COVID-19 patients
✅ HEPA Air purifiers, Negative ion generators, and UVC Sanitizers
✅ Increased intervals between appointments and patients to minimize cross-infection
✅ Hydrogen peroxide mouth rinse before dental procedures
✅ Rubber dam isolation with high-speed turbo oral aerosol vacuum suction hose
✅ Anti-retraction headpieces
✅ Effective and strict disinfection measures
The facts about COVID-19
This virus is a “new normal” for many dental and health professionals and is added permanently to the list of other infectious diseases. Medical and dental professionals have been trained to treat everyone as they have an infectious disease, including ourselves. The best medical and dental practices have high infection control standards to keep them safe at all times, not just during the pandemic. This specific virus is easily destroyed by heat, UV light, or even rubbing alcohol. Applying high infection control standards, along with preventing aerosol/splatter, will assure safety of our patients and teams.
Catching Aerosols and Splatter in Dentistry
Aerosols/ Splatter Control in Dentistry
The concern of aerosols/splatter has been here way long before COVID-19, and the best thing for our wellness is to maintain protocols to prevent being exposed to any pathogens we may encounter. The goal is to catch aerosols/ splatter not just during COVID-19 but on any day.
- Check out the article: 10 Top Ways to Catch Aerosols/Splatter at our Offices
- How to create a room with negative pressure at dental offices? Watch this video
- How to handle aerosols without rooms with negative pressure at dental offices?
- Clean Air Project
Our Lincoln dentists take extra precautions to ensure a safe environment for their teams and patients to help guard them against common pathogens in dentistry.
Dental Office Infection Control: Equipment and Instrument Cleaning
The Dental Offices with High Infection Control Standards follow very specific guidelines outlined by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about how dental equipment and instruments should be properly disinfected and cleaned. Equipment and tools are classified and put into one of three categories based upon the risk of infection transmission: non-critical, semi-critical, and critical.
Non-critical instruments are those that touch intact skin, only. Those instruments can be items such as x-ray sensors, pulse oximeters, or blood pressure cuffs. These particular instruments can be re-used between patients after receiving a low-level or intermediate-level disinfection. Low-level disinfectants are classified as hospital disinfectants but are not qualified to kill the same variety of pathogens as an intermediate-level disinfectant. An intermediate-level disinfectant is classified as a hospital disinfectant or “tuberculocidal,” which means that it specifically targets and kills the bacteria that causes tuberculosis as well as a host of other bacteria and viruses.
Semi-critical instruments are those that come into contact with mucous membranes such as the inside of your cheeks or non-dry skin. These instruments include mirrors, reusable impression trays, and dental fillings condensers. They should also be dry heat sterilized after each use.
Critical instruments in dental office infection control would include those that encounter blood, saliva and are used to penetrate bone or soft tissue. Tools that are covered under this classification are scalpels, scalers, bone chisels, and forceps. Critical instruments need to be sterilized after each use. Acceptable methods of sterilization include dry heat or heat/chemical vapor and autoclaving.
The Dental Offices with High Infection Control Standards have such standards because they know that it is crucial to protect the health of patients as well as team members. There are other areas in the office that you should be aware of as a patient when you visit a medical or dental provider.
The first area is, hand washing, which is very important in helping to prevent the spread of diseases to patients and amongst co-workers within the dental office as well.
- After the dentist uses his/her bare hands to touch equipment that may be contaminated by saliva, blood, and or some other secretions or bodily fluids.
- Before and after the treatment of every patient and if possible, in front of the patient.
- Before putting on gloves as well as immediately after they are removed.
- Dentist (or any other dental professional) that has visibly soiled hands.
Dental Office Infection Control: Office Cleanliness and Surface Contamination
The Dental Offices with High Infection Control Standards give attention to not only the dental instruments and equipment but also to all other aspects of the clinic itself. According to information from the CDC, dental offices contain two types of surfaces: housekeeping surfaces and clinical contact surfaces.
Sinks, floors, and walls are all examples of what would be considered housekeeping surfaces. Research does indicate that they offer very little if any chance of contamination and they can also be cleaned on a regular basis with water and detergent. Of all the housekeeping surfaces, the CDC says that floors should be cleaned the most regularly for best dental office infection control.
Clinical contact surfaces include things such as light switches, drawer and faucet handles, chairs, countertops, or other items that a patient or dentist might touch during a procedure. If not protected by barriers, which include bags, plastic wrap, and sheets, clinical contact surfaces should be cleaned between every patient with an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant.
Dental Office Infection Control: Team Education and Training
The Dental Offices with High Infection Control Standards maintain training records for safety and dental office infection control just like any other business, which is required by the federal and state governments. The dental offices with the best infection control policies should offer continuing/ongoing education and training to all employees to make sure policies and procedures are followed and practiced correctly. The CDC also recommends that when training, it covers safety guidelines for both employees as well as patients.
Dental office infection control is critical as discussed above, and as long as your dentist maintains their safety and infection prevention protocols, you can trust them when it comes to all of your dental needs!
At Nebraska Family Dentistry, we strive to provide a safe place for our patients. One of the ways we do so by following high infection standards. You can schedule with our dentists in Lincoln, NE 24/7 via online scheduling.
Affordable Dental Care
Make easy, affordable payments for your procedure with dental payment plans we offer.
Schedule Day or Night
Schedule your dental appointment at anytime of the day or night with our online scheduling.
We have 7 Locations in Lincoln, NE!
- Lincoln Family Dentistry – Central Lincoln
- South Lincoln Family Dentistry – South Lincoln
- Northeast Lincoln Family Dentistry – Northeast Lincoln
- Preserve Family Dentistry – East Lincoln
- Coddington Dental – West Lincoln
- NorthStar Dental – North Lincoln
- SouthPointe Dental – Southwest Lincoln
- Emergency Dentist NE – Emergency Dental Care
- Lincoln Dental Plans – Affordable Dental Options
Nebraska Family Dentistry has multiple Lincoln Dental Clinics!
Choose a “dentist near me” location that is convenient for you.