functional dentistry and occlusion from new generation
Behind the Scenes of Dentistry - Dental Hygiene
A nice smile, healthy teeth, and improved dental health are the stars of dentistry. However, there is a whole world happening behind the scenes to make it all possible – the world of hygiene, sanitation, and sterilization.
Mouths are full of diverse bacteria! Some are friendly, helping to break down food and protect our health. Others, not so much. These “bad boys” can lead to cavities, gum disease, and even systemic health problems.
A sterile environment minimizes the risk of infection with dangerous “bad bacteria” after procedures. This leads to a smoother recovery, less discomfort, and a healthier smile overall. After dental procedures, the body has lots of work to recover, heal, and put things in place. Any infection is an additional burden that requires bodily resources and can endanger proper healing, lowering the aesthetic and functional results of the procedure.
We want to ensure optimal recovery conditions, allowing the body to put all its resources into a fast and thorough recovery. Thus, we must ensure that everything in the dental office is meticulously clean.
Every surface you see, from the examination chair to the overhead light, gets disinfected with hospital-grade cleansers between patients. We pay special attention to high-touch areas like doorknobs, light switches, and keyboards. Small droplets of saliva can mix with dust and infect the surface.
Of course, the instruments and devices we use in dental treatments are most dangerous if not treated with utmost care.
At Coldy Dent, we apply three approaches to our instruments’ hygiene: thermal, mechanical, and chemical disinfection.
Thermal Disinfection: Autoclaves are high-tech pressure cookers that use intense heat and steam to eliminate all traces of microbial life on instruments.
Thermal Washer-Disinfector: This is a high-tech dishwasher for dental tools. These machines use a combination of heat, detergents, and disinfectants to meticulously clean and disinfect instruments.
Chemical Disinfection: This targets the cell walls of microbes, essentially disrupting their defenses and rendering them harmless.
The Balancing Act of Sterilization
Cleaning takes time. Just like you cannot cook soup in one minute even if all the ingredients are inside, sanitation won’t happen in the blink of an eye. It takes time for pathogens, exposed to disinfectants, heat, detergents, and mechanical cleaning, to finally die and decompose. There is no way to speed up that process.
That’s why we have multiple sets of instruments. While one set is sterilized, another is in use, ensuring a continuous flow of clean equipment. Maintaining a surplus of instruments can be a significant investment. Still, since we are dealing with human health, it is imperative to ensure that everything we do is supported by immaculate hygiene.
A healthy smile starts with a healthy environment – of the dental office and then the patient’s mouth, where we don’t want any intrusive pathogens. The best dental work can be damaged by poor hygiene. That’s why at Coldy Dent, we go above and beyond to provide the highest standards of hygiene and sanitation, ensuring your visit is not just comfortable but also completely safe.
If you have any questions about our hygiene practices at any point, please don’t hesitate to ask!