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At Simply Beautiful Smiles, we have a long history of strict Infection Control Guidelines, instituting the mandatory wearing of gloves and masks and protective gowns long before it was legislated as mandatory, in fact, basically since Dr Wells graduated and commenced treating in private practice (where his boss at the time even made him buy his own gowns (or laboratory coats), gloves and masks rather than supply them!).
Every year, in the lead up to winter, and at times of certain outbreaks, staff are reminded again of the simple measures they can take even on a personal level even at home to prevent transmission of disease. The most simple things of not touching eyes, nose or mouth without first washing hands, and then again washing hands after touching the face or using tissues can mean the difference of getting sick or not getting sick or spreading sickness to loved ones or colleagues. Using alcohol hand washes and washing hands regularly are simple measures we can all take.
We also regularly wipe down or wash surfaces, even down to the door handles, to minimise the risk of spread of infection. Some items that are difficult to clean are covered in plastic wrap and then replaced for each patient. (As much as we loathe the use of plastic, we have found no suitable replacement though we are looking into this as well to source better environmentally friendly products). This is all just part of our routine infection control measures.
At Simply Beautiful Smiles, we use Surgical (Level 2) Masks. This is primarily to prevent transmission of disease to the health care worker, and from the health care worker to the patient. Here is an excerpt from the Australian Dental Association:
“Background on masks: Surgical (Level 2) grade masks are intended to protect both the health care provider and the patient because of their design and filtration. In a dental practice, procedures generate large quantities of aerosols (with the high-speed handpiece and/or triplex syringe when doing fillings and ultrasonic when doing cleaning) and a number of diseases may be transmitted via the airborne route. Consequently dentists must wear suitable fluid-resistant surgical masks that block particles of three microns or less to provide the correct level of protection.”
https://www.ada.org.au/News-Media/News-and-Release/Latest-News/Masks-shortage-at-AU-dentists
Further, these steps are also taken to help protect patients and staff alike:
Please rest assured that we are keeping abreast of the developments taking place with regard to Coronavirus (an on almost hourly basis). Your safety and our safety is our primary concern and always has been.
We pray that this will be over as quickly as possible with the least interruption as possible all round. In the meantime, I wish you good health. If you have any concerns, please feel free to call us on 4731 1599.
Sincerely
John
