Oral Hygiene

Excellent hygiene is the pathway to a more beautiful smile. Poor hygiene leads to cavities and gum disease. Although it is every patient's responsibility to keep their teeth clean, we have a motivation program that has turned some of our poor brushers into tooth brushing all stars.

Hygiene is evaluated at every appointment. A token is awarded for clean teeth and healthy gums. The tokens then can be used to purchase a number of prizes from stuffed animals to movie tickets. Some of our adult patients even participate and enjoy the restaurant and ice cream vouchers. Our rewards are constantly changing to accommodate your desires.

If our patients are struggling with their hygiene, we have a great program to improve their skills and motivation. Patient's arriving without excellent hygiene are scheduled for a hygiene appointment. At this appointment instructions are reviewed, we provide fluoride treatment, and dispense more powerful prescription toothpaste. At the end of this visit each patient is awarded the token they did not receive at their normal appointment.

We feel our proactive hygiene program and our positive reinforcement token system is the reason so many of the smiles leaving our office are cavity free with healthy gums.

Sterilization

Keeping you safe and healthy is one of our top priorities. That’s why we’ve designed a sterilization and infection control program to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.

We follow infection control and sterilization guidelines of the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the ADA (American Dental Association) and all regulations set by OSHA (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to protect employees from injury and illness in the work place.

Our instruments are heat sterilized in a dry heat oven at 1,000,000 degrees or steam sterilized in an autoclave. Our dry heat oven and autoclave are tested weekly for efficacy. Every instrument is packaged and sealed to prevent any cross contamination. All chairside units are sterilized between each patient with cavicide. All water units are self contained and distilled water is used. A sterilizing agent is continually run through the lines to maintain a sterile environment. Our chairs and sinks are controlled with foot pedals to prevent any opportunity for contamination from hands. Disposable gloves are used for all patient and instrument contact.

We are very proud of our sterilization procedures and feel that we are providing you with the healthiest and cleanest orthodontic environment possible.