{"id":299,"date":"2020-06-09T22:04:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T22:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.richardfossumdds.com\/blog\/?p=299"},"modified":"2020-06-30T22:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T22:05:04","slug":"dentist-in-temple-talks-instrument-sterilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richardfossumdds.com\/blog\/dentist-in-temple-talks-instrument-sterilization\/","title":{"rendered":"How Your Dental Team Cleans Their Instruments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Dentist<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You were expecting a reminder about your summer dental appointment, but you didn\u2019t anticipate the anxiety that would come with it. After all, when you scheduled this appointment at the start of 2020 there wasn\u2019t a pandemic to consider. Now, there are stay-at-home orders in place and social distancing guidelines around every corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, your dentist has practiced infection control guidelines set forth by the CDC and OHSA long before COVID-19. To ease your concerns about your upcoming appointment, your dentist in Temple<\/a> is sharing how your dental team cleans their instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How Are Dental Tools Cleaned?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To sterilize their instruments properly, dentists use an autoclave. This device uses steam heat to ensure that microorganisms cannot linger on the tools and spread from patient to patient. First, your dentist will place the contaminated tools into a sterilization pouch. From there, the instruments will be put into the autoclave until the color indicator changes (which means that it is thoroughly disinfected). Also, it is important to note that autoclaves are monitored externally with test strips that ensure the machine is working correctly. This guarantees a compromised tool is never used on a patient. In fact, the autoclave sterilization process is so effective that it is also used in hospital operating rooms and high-quality food production facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is The Dental Exam Room Sterilized Too?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While your dentist takes painstaking measures to ensure their tools are properly sterilized, the sanitation process does not stop there. To safeguard their office from cross-contamination, your dentist is also implementing extensive sanitation throughout their office. A few of these measures include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n