Before your visit to our office, Dr. Becker and his staff have already started your care by taking precautions to control and protect against infection. The most common procedures in our office are not periodontal procedures but what we call “Universal Precautions.”
    These procedures, which we use for you and every patient, comply with the infection control guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in health care settings. These procedures include the following:
    Washing hands and wearing gloves: Before starting your treatment and that of all our other patients, Dr. Becker and his dental care team wash their hands and put on new gloves. They also wear masks and other protective items such as gowns and eyewear.
    Sterilization and disinfection: We at Lakeview Periodontal Associates are trained in various sterilization and disinfection methods and their appropriate use to kill bacteria and viruses.
    We use steam under pressure in a steam autoclave to sterilize instruments that can withstand high temperatures. We thoroughly scrub clean those instruments that cannot be heated and then sterilize or disinfect them in chemical solutions.
    With these sterilization methods, we ensure that we destroy all microorganisms that cause infection, including those that cause AIDS and hepatitis.
    To disinfect countertops, x-ray heads and other stationary pieces of equipment, we use chemical agents registered as hospital disinfectants by the Environmental Protection Agency.
    Disposable and waste materials: We dispose of single-use dental materials such as gloves, masks and gauze in properly covered containers. We place such items as needles and scalpel blades, which we call “sharps,” in puncture-proof covered containers.

Absolutely. All scientific evidence clearly indicates that the precautions we take will protect you from infection. Have no fear: more than one billion dental procedures have been performed safely during the past ten years.

No case of virus transmission by means of contaminated dental instruments has ever been confirmed. Nevertheless, to be sure that no such transmission can happen to you and our other patients, Dr. Becker's staff sterilize all hand pieces that have been used on one patient before they are ever used on another patient.

Testing all health care workers to determine their HIV status might sound like an easy and sound preventive measure. But it really does not protect you or other patients from exposure, nor does it provide assurance that a person is not actually infected with the AIDS virus infection. The test for HIV relies on the presence of antibodies, which may not develop until six months after a person has been infected. Therefore,
a negative test result gives no indication of a person's HIV status at the very moment the test is done or what it might be a week or a month later.

We at Lakeview Periodontal Associates realize that many of our patients have concerns and questions about the spread of AIDS and other infectious diseases. For that reason, we have taken effective measures to ensure that you receive the safest care possible.
    We encourage you to talk with us about any of your dental care concerns, including infection control procedures. We want you to feel secure and comfortable. We provide this information to answer many of the questions you may have about safety in our periodontal office. If you still have questions, please ask us. We care about you. Your complete dental and general health are our number one concern.