Patient Comfort, Infection Control and High Technology

We realize dental care can be a source of anxiety for many of our Patients, and emphasize pain control and work efficiency whenever possible. We try to schedule the appropriate amount of time for our procedures, taking into account the personal circumstances of each patient. We encourage Patients to bring in their favorite music on walkmans or MP3 players. We have ergonomically-friendly chairs and supplemental memory-foam pillows to assist in neck and back comfort during treatment. We offer Nitrous Oxide ( ‘Laughing Gas’) relaxation at a reduced fee to those Patients specifically requesting its use. We can prescribe oral medications to reduce dental anxiety to those Patients specifically requesting them. Our recently renovated, modern dental practice offers state-of-the-art technology to enhance patient safety, infection control, diagnostic capabilities and work efficiency: Each treatment room’s module is equipped with a special chemical cartridge to treat its water supply with an anti-microbial additive. This treatment reduces the bacterial content normally present in all water supply lines. Our office utilizes modern systems to clean (ultrasonically) and sterilize (high-pressure steam-autoclave) our dental hand-pieces and dental instruments. Daily monitoring of our sterilizers’ function occurs with special chemical indicators. Spore-culture testing of our sterilizers’ function is done each week. We have attempted to remove all known sources of Latex rubber from our office due to the increasing incidence of Latex Allergy. We use only non-latex gloves. We only use non-latex prophy polishing cups. We use only non-latex rubber dams. Each treatment room has its own computer workstation for assisting in Patient information management, scheduling concerns, billing and insurance matters, and the like. Each treatment room’s computer is on-line, allowing us to utilize our new digital x-ray capabilities to the utmost. Digital radiography offers better diagnostic images and greatly reduces radiation exposure to our Patients. Each treatment room has the capability to offer Nitrous Oxide (‘Laughing Gas’) relaxation if requested. Our office is equipped to offer panoramic (‘Panorex’) x-ray imaging, which is a is a great diagnostic tool. A panoramic x-ray image offers a view of the sinuses and upper and lower jaws not seen with other x-rays: .....it shows all the teeth present, even if they are hidden (impacted), and is the most common x-ray requested to evaluate “wisdom teeth” .....it is an important x-ray for planning implant treatment and/or orthodontic treatment .....it may show other dental diseases present, but not revealed by other dental x-rays .....it may show an early sign of an unknown body disease causing x-ray changes in the sinuses or upper or lower jaws, such as cancer or endocrine disorders We try to encourage our Patients to have a panoramic x-ray several times in their lifetimes.