Infection Control
Infection controls and universal precautions protect clients and staff alike. Everyone benefits from rigorous infection control — you, your dentist, and the dental team. The cornerstone in a good and safe dental practice is the element of trust. You should feel free to discuss this topic with Dr. Westmeyer and receive a straightforward answer.
Westmeyer Dental has always made infection control a top priority, and you may have seen this during a visit to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Dr. Westmeyer and our entire team follow procedures recommended by several federal agencies: the American Dental Association (ADA), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies recommendations. These measures include:
- Disinfectant hand soap
- Gloves and face masks
- Chemical disinfection of counter-tops and surfaces
- Sterilization of all equipment before every use
- Disposable materials
We sterilize all reusable equipment, including dental hand pieces. We use an autoclave, a device that kills bacteria and viruses by steam, heat and pressure.
We have made changes to help protect our patients & staff:
- Before your appointment, our office will call you to ask some screening questions. When you arrive for your scheduled appointment you will again be asked those same questions.
- We have hand sanitizer that we will ask that you use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
- You may see that our waiting room has reduced seating to allow for social distancing. We will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distance in between patients. During this reopening period, this might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
The best defense against disease is information. The more you know, the better equipped you are to make wise decisions about your health care. The more you know about our daily procedures and policies, the more comfortable you will feel.