Seeing a new dentist can put you on the path to having enhanced oral health and overall health. Getting preventive and restorative treatments can stop dental diseases from occurring in the oral cavity. This dental therapy can also stop the progression of dental diseases already present. When seeing a new General Dentist in Cherry Hill NJ for the first time, it helps to be vigilant to prevent cross-infection. Learn about the actions to take during an initial visit.
During an initial visit to your new General Dentist in Cherry Hill NJ, look at the reception area. Observe the condition of the walls, furniture, and floors. There should not be excess dust and grime in sight. While carpets can’t be sterilized easily, they can be sanitized. Preferably, a dental office will use hospital grade linoleum that can be sterilized. Examine the condition of the rest of the office. There should be plenty of soap and paper towels at all sinks for hand-washing. The countertops should not have piles of papers on them. This makes it harder to disinfect these work surfaces.
It’s extremely important for you to pay close attention to the use of gloves in the dental office. This applies to the dentist, dental hygienist, and other team members. New gloves should be put on in between each patient. After your new dentist dons a pair of gloves, he should only touch you or the dental instrument he will use on you during treatment. New gloves should come out of an appropriate glove dispenser and be disposed of in the proper receptacle.
As you walk to the treatment room, look for an autoclave validation. This is sometimes displayed on the wall or at the reception counter. When it’s not in view, ask to look at this document. An autoclave is a sterilization machine. To test the functionality of this machine, the dental office will run packets of bacteria sent by an independent party. After being run through the autoclave, the packets will be sent back for analysis. The results of the testing are sent to the dentist in an autoclave validation.
A large part of safe treatment between a dentist and his patients is based on trust. However, by performing these actions, you can increase your chances of avoiding cross-infection. Being proactive is a way of being an advocate for your dental health.
