Sterilization:  Our office follows the current recommendations of the American Dental Association (ADA), the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and the Occupational Safety Hazard Administration (OSHA). This consists of “universal precautions” which basically means that we treat each individual as though they were sick. We take numerous steps to ensure our office environment is safe and clean. This may sound like a lot of trouble, and it is time consuming. But we are committed to following all the guidelines and methodical steps it takes to ensure the complete safety of our patients.So although we cannot quarantine you in a sealed room, we get as close to that as we can. We wear masks, gloves, and glasses; steam sterilize the instruments and hand-pieces after each use; test our sterilizer regularly to make sure all bacteria are destroyed; protect the difficult to disinfect surfaces with disposable plastic sheaths; use disposable suction tips and other single use items when possible; and disinfect each treatment room thoroughly after every patient.

Pure Water:  Recent news stories have caused discussion of contaminated water lines. We have done everything to eliminate this problem from our office. Because we have modern dental units with self-contained water bottles, we o­nly use distilled water for all procedures. This eliminates the impurities which may enter our lines by using city water. In addition, we purge and treat the lines with antibacterial cleaners o­n a regular basis. Our water tastes better and remains cleaner than is possible with older units.