Update About AIDS and Infection Control

With all the recent publicity surrounding AIDS, it’s understandable that patients might have some concerns about a visit to the dental office and the measures taken to protect their health.

We want you to understand the rigorous precautions we take to protect you from all infectious diseases, including AIDS and Hepatitis B.

HEPATITIS B

The doctors and staff have been vaccinated for Hepatitis B.

THE AIDS VIRUS

The virus that causes AIDS is known as the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. This virus is readily destroyed by disinfection and sterilization measures that we always use to control the spread of any infection.

UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS

To protect your health, we adhere to what is called “universal precautions”. This means we use the same protective measures with every patient to prevent the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS and other infectious diseases.

The universal precautions include:

Sterilizing and disinfecting ALL dental instruments after each use, including air turbine drills;
Cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces of the treatment room and equipment after each patient;
Wearing gloves, masks and protective eyewear for all patient treatment;
Washing hands before and after each treatment and changing gloves after each patient;
Disposing of needles and other sharp items in special containers;
Properly disposing of waste items and contaminated material.

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