October 04, 2021
As in all facilities connected to healthcare, impeccable cleanliness is a must for your dental clinic, for a number of reasons. You may not be aware of how many patients or potential patients may turn away and leave because your dental office doesn’t look perfectly hygienic. Of course, it’s not only a question of the image but of safety. An unkempt environment may also put your patients at risk of health and injury issues, since bacteria and germs that accumulate on the surfaces may go airborne and infect you or your patients, becoming a great health hazard.
Handling Chemical Spills
These incidents are pretty common in dental offices. It is very important that the staff is trained to quickly and efficiently clean up these spills when they occur. They should know how to avoid getting in contact with dangerous chemicals while cleaning, how dangerous each individual chemical is, and how to properly ventilate the room while performing the cleanup. Of course, they should know which protective equipment to wear while cleaning (a mask, gloves, goggles, etc.)
Making your office fully operative quickly but safely, too, is imperative in these situations.
The Tools for Cleaning
Keeping that checklist and organizing/training your staff for cleaning is vital, but it’s also very important to have the right cleaning tools and knowing how to use them.
First of all, it is important to have personal protective equipment (PPC) such as masks, gloves, and goggles both in order to protect you from contamination while you’re cleaning your dental instruments and to prevent you from being the contaminator by passing on any bacteria to the instruments you’re cleaning.
You should think about cleaning your instruments before steaming them in the autoclave, in order to fully sterilize them. You can use ultrasonic cleaning (using soundwaves that pass through a certain solution in order to remove debris, or automated instrument washers (these will save you time and effort. You could also manually scrub the instruments, but this option is the least recommended since it requires the most time and is not as efficient. Don’t forget to dry your instruments in the next step before sterilizing them in the autoclave.
Disposable single-use cloths, mops, and wipes are always a good idea to both save time and be certain that your cleaning tools aren’t contaminated. The guys at trugrade.com.au can provide you with a great range of quality clothes and wipes, and also cleaning chemicals, dispensers, etc. So, it may be a good idea to check them out.
Cleaning Checklist
Because it is so important to keep the office spotless, you might find it useful to have a checklist and go step by step by cleaning, from top priority cleanups to general dusting. You should start, of course, with the patient chair and the general area surrounding it, like the X-ray, armrests, faucets, and sinks, and proceed by cleaning the cabinets, door handles Etc.
It is also very important to keep your bathroom hygiene at the highest possible level. It should always be properly stocked up with soap, toilet paper, towels. Having additional hygiene supplies will probably make an even better impression on your patients.
All surfaces in the office should be regularly dusted both for aesthetics and because dusty surfaces can spread bacteria and germs carrying a health hazard through the air.
The first thing your patient encounters when visiting your office is the reception. So, keep in mind that the first impression might be a dealbreaker if that area appears unorganized and cluttered up. You should definitely include the reception in your regular cleaning checklist.
Important Reminders
Since it’s so important to keep your office impeccable, we should sum up with a list of a couple of important reminders to have in mind for the process of cleaning:
• Clean hard surfaces regularly (especially when spills occur)
• Train your staff to clean efficiently and safely
• Always have PPE (personal protective equipment) when cleaning
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on sanitizing the instruments and products used
• Clean the walls, curtains, handles, and everything visibly dusty in the operating room
• If you’re not using disposable cleaning equipment, clean and disinfect it regularly
• Pre-clean your instruments before sterilization (using ultrasonic or automatic cleaning systems)
• Try to regularly declutter both the operating room and the waiting area/reception
Hopefully, this short text will help you organize your dental office cleaning routine a little better, and remember why it is so important that all the areas (especially the operating room) should always be impeccable. Keeping everything spotless is easier when you do it properly.