Patient Information
Infection Control
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice. Our infection control processes were established so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that are issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agency's recommendations.
Brookhaven Family Dentistry not only meets the guidelines set by the CDC, OSHA, and the American Dental Association, but we also do many things that go above and beyond the government regulations. Here are some of the measures that we take to ensure we are keeping all of our patients and staff safe:
Autoclave Sterilization
Autoclave (heat/pressure) sterilization is the strongest form of sterilization. Government regulation calls for certain dental instruments to always be autoclave sterilized, but other instruments may be cold sterilized (a weaker mode of sterilization). Starting in 2009, we decided that we would eliminate cold sterilization and instead use autoclave sterilization for all of our instruments. While it is more time consuming to use autoclave sterilization for all instruments, we decided it was the best and safest route.
Ultrasonic Cleaning
In addition to regular cleaning of our dental instruments, we utilize ultrasonic cleaning to make sure our instruments are free of any debris or visible particles before they are autoclave sterilized.
H13 Medical Grade HEPA Air Purification
Many places utilize HEPA air purification. The main difference between H13 and the others is the size of the particles they can capture. H13 allows capture of 99.9% of particles down to 0.1 microns. This is very important, since 0.1 microns is necessary for the highest rate of virus capturing.
Medical Grade Water Purification
We go above and beyond to make sure the water that goes into our dental units is clean and safe. We use Sterisil Cartridges to make sure the water that goes into your mouth is as purified as possible. Sterisil Cartridges are the only water line treatment cartridges that are EPA registered to produce dental water with less than or equal to 10 CFU/mL HPC bacteria.
Employee Wellness Guidelines
Our employee guidelines mandate that if an employee is showing any signs of an illness then they are to stay home. This has been our policy for many years and has resulted in a healthier work environment.
Sterilization Equipment Maintenance
We stay up to date with the effectiveness and functionality of our sterilization equipment and chemicals. We regularly run tests to make sure our sterilization equipment is functioning properly. We also ensure that our infection control chemicals are effective against COVID 19.
COVID-19 Protocols
In addition to our regular measures listed above, we have implemented COVID-19 protocols:
- Our office will contact you prior to your appointment with some prescreening questions. You may be asked these same questions again at your appointment.
- We ask that your hands are clean when you come into our practice. We also ask you to use hand sanitizer upon entry to the office.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the office at any one time.
- Surfaces and frequently touched items will be wiped down throughout the day with EPA approved sanitizing wipes.
Patients With Insurance
Our office gladly accepts and works with most dental insurance plans. Some companies we work with are Aetna, Ameritas, Assurant, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Delta Dental, Guardian, Humana, Lincoln Financial, Metlife, Paragon, Principal Life, United Concordia, & United Healthcare. We are not contracted with any insurance company, hence we are considered an out of network provider. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
We understand dealing with insurance companies can be complicated and confusing. Therefore, we will always do our best to help you. As a courtesy to our patients, we file your insurance claims for you.
Patients Without Insurance
We accept checks, cash, and credit cards. We offer financing options through Care Credit Health Care Financing.
New Patient Forms
If you’re a new patient visiting our office for the first time, please print and complete the following forms prior to your appointment:
