Dentistry Treatments
Biosafety
This is currently a worldwide concern for high-quality health services. Therefore, it becomes essential to study and promote different ways of preventing both the staff and the patients from any kind of damage.
In that sense, we could assume that Biosafety is a set of actions aimed at reducing the risk of infection at dentistry clinics. Its basic principles are the prevention of diseases – ―crossed infection‖ - and the protection of staff and patients. Some of the illnesses of high risk of contamination at a dentistry clinic are: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis and HIV virus.
In our clinic, we have cutting edge technology, advanced techniques and well-trained staff that systematically practices the Biosafety at the same level of developed countries, using products certified by ISO 9002. For that matter, we rely on a specialized consultant that structured the whole clinic: choosing equipments, complying with international norms of infection control or required tools and, training the staff.
According to international norms of infection control, the Biosafety procedures must begin in the patient’s mouth. In each appointment, before any clinical procedure, the patient uses a mouth wash that contains Clorexidine 0,12%. By doing so, we are able to reduce in 98% the microorganisms that could get in touch with the staff and dentistry materials.
All material is sterilized and sealed in a special paper, and is opened only in front of the patient. X-Rays are also protected by physical barriers, reducing the risk of contamination through saliva.
All equipment is protected by special security barriers that are systematically changed for every different patient. These barriers cover practically everything inside the room, from the patient’s chair to the door’s handle.
These barriers are everywhere, in all equipments and materials the dental-surgeon and staff touch, such as high and low rotation drilling, anesthesia devices, laser, resin photopolimerizer and even the computer´s mouse and keyboard of the room.
NOTE: The main idea is to reduce as much as possible the probability of a crossed-infection, which is the contamination among patients or the staff that might occur through contact with contaminated equipments or instruments.
During the clinical appointment, all protection requirements are taken care of, always following the strict Biosafety norms. The staff is always protected with gloves, bonnet, smock, and goggles. Goggles and disposable smocks are also used by the patients.
Our clinic has a Sterilization Center where procedures of decontamination, washing, drying, lubrication, packaging, sterilization and storage of non-disposable instruments and materials are done. Sterilization quality control is periodically made in order to ensure everyone´s protection – staff and patients.
IMPORTANT: Recently, the APCD Magazine (São Paulo Dental-Surgeon Association) published an article giving special focus to this subject. It described an extensive research made about the application of Biosafety in Dentistry.
The results and conclusions are worrisome:
1. The majority of the interviewed dental surgeons were not familiar with the scope of biological risk control norms.
2. The Biosafety norms are not systematically applied by a considerable number of professionals interviewed‖.
This is a major concern, since it means that the majority of population is in constant risk of contamination from serious diseases such as Hepatites B and C, Turberculosis and AIDS.
3. A considerable number of professionals adopt only basic measurements aiming at reducing the risk of infections at the dental clinic.
This is also a major concern, given that applying the Biosafety norms in a basic way puts the patient’s and the staff’s health in danger. Such norms act in a chain of events, where each procedure depends on another to achieve the expected result. Thus, when one applies a few measurements without a deep understanding of such a complex subject (Biological Protection), it will lead to unnecessary expenditures and time wastage – not to mention the false feeling of protection and safety at the dentist’s office.