You might be surprised to know that your dental office is one of the safest places to be when you are out of your home. At Wilshire Smile Studio, we have always gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure patients are fully protected.
Of course, you know we have always worn disposable gowns, gloves, and masks when we are working inside your mouth, protecting you and us, just like doctors and nurses do with their patients. Dentistry is an especially intimate medical specialty that has always taken this contact very seriously. We will, of course, continue these practices for every procedure.
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Fighting Infections
We also help you fight infections within your mouth by using lasers, anti-bacterial injections, hygienic cleaning, periodontal mouth washes, surgery, and medications as appropriate. You do your part by brushing, flossing, using water picks, and other aids.
You probably did not know the lengths to which we have always gone to make sure our instruments are sterilized.
“We take each item after use and rinse it thoroughly in water after use, then place it in an ultra-sonic solution that shakes the instruments for 15 minutes,” says Chriselda Javier, RDAEF. “They are taken out, rinsed, and dried. We then put them into sealed pouches in an autoclave on a shelf relative to how much further cleaning they need. High heat accomplishes the sterilization and send samples from inside the autoclave for spore testing, to be sure it absolutely free on any contamination.”
As we announced recently, our infection control has been taken to a new, even more meticulous level after we reopened in June, following the two-month closing due to the lockdown declared by the City of Los Angeles to prevent the COVID-19 crisis from getting worse.
When you call for an appointment, you will be asked screening questions about how you feel and your recent health history. When you come in, we will take your temperature and ask the same questions again, to be sure we are up-to-date on any health issues in general and symptoms related to the virus specifically. This is for the protection of everyone in the office at that time and we know you appreciate how careful we are being to keep patients and staff safe. Please arrive early to allow us time to go through this process. At some point, we hope there will be a vaccine that could reduce the amount of screening required.
Your Initial Consultation
You will notice that there will be fewer patients in the waiting room, since we are scheduling appointments further apart than is usual, enabling everyone to sit apart. All who enter the office must wear masks as additional protection. We will also have hand sanitizers available.
If you have further questions or concerns about our infection control procedures, or need advice on what steps you should be taking to care for yourself or receive treatment, please call our knowledgeable staff at 323-DENTIST (336-8478).
