Health Safety Protocols

To Our Valued Patients at Surprise Smiles,

Welcome! We are open, looking forward to seeing returning patients, accepting new patients, and operating under normal business hours! The Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDS) is still not recommending any type of closures or modification in hours. We will continue to monitor information coming from both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and AZDHS and keep you apprised of any changes or updates. We will stay on top of this information and bring it to you as soon as possible through our website, email, and social media.

As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, our dentists and dental team want to assure you that we are continuing to do our best to make sure it a priority that we are following the latest health and safety guidelines from the CDC, specifically as they relate to the dental industry. We value keeping our patients and staff members safe and comfortable.

As part of our daily standard health and safety protocols, our office follows ‘Universal Precautions’ in order to protect our patients and our staff. These are precautions we have always taken, and are not new. By taking ‘universal precautions’ means we always assume that anyone could potentially be carrying a contagious and dangerous disease. We therefore follow strict guidelines to prevent the transmission of any potential disease, be it COVID-19 (Coronavirus), hepatitis, tuberculosis, HIV, or any other disease. This has been a standard of care we follow, per the CDC, in regard to blood borne pathogens.

These measures include:
• strict hand washing protocols

• use of (single use) disposable protective equipment and barriers

• thorough disinfection of exposed or potentially exposed surfaces after every patient visit

• disinfection and high-heat steam sterilization of instruments and routine monitoring of sterilization verification

• continued education on infection control

Specific to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we have added in additional precautionary and cleaning measures including:
• disinfecting common surface areas every 30 minutes

• providing hand sanitizer in common areas

• screening everyone who enters our offices based on CDC recommendations

• offering preprocedural mouth rinse

As state and national health and safety regulations change and evolve during these times, Surprise Smiles is dedicated to monitoring and evaluating our dental practice and office space for any potential risks as we serve our patients and community. We strive to maintain an approach to our dentistry services that is both safe and beneficial to everyone we serve.

We strive to provide a safe, healthy, comfortable, and relaxed environment for everyone that comes into our dental office. We follow the American Dental Association’s Update to Office Procedures During COVID-19 in regard to safe office procedures, workplace hazards, and making decisions for best office practices. We stay informed on recent information given to dentists in this regard, as well as keeping up to date with any changes recommended by the CDC.

Please let us know if you have any questions in regard to our health and safety protocols here at Surprise Smiles. We recognize that it can be challenging during these unprecedented times of COVID-19. We all want to get back to our normal lives, and we will be able to do so, in a safe, wise, and healthy manner. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have in regard to our dental practice health and safety protocols, cleaning, and disinfecting procedures we follow.

Thank you for continuing to be a valued patient here at Bradshaw Family Dental. We look forward to continuing to serve you and your dental needs through the various services we provide for you, from preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, pediatric dentistry, sedation dentistry, dental implants and more!

Avoid the Risks of DIY Whitening Systems

Posted on 2/17/2016 by Dr. Andrew Zeiger

A before and after image of a patients teeth using a professional teeth whitening treatment.

Most of us would like a whiter smile, and to get it, you might be tempted to go out and buy a do-it-yourself whitening kit to try at home. Sure, these systems are cheap and relatively easy to use, but are they really worth the cost? Or, could they actually damage your teeth? Find out more about the risks associated with these systems.

Spotty Results
Without a dentist's help, home teeth whitening systems can have spotty results. The bleach concentration in home systems usually ranges from 10-20%, but most DIY bleaching kits don't indicate the exact concentration on the box. Without knowing how strong the bleaching agent is, you could end up choosing one with a lower concentration that provides ineffective results.

Damage to the Enamel

The enamel is the protective layer covering your teeth. This is often the portion of your tooth that is stained, and home whitening systems will use chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and sodium bicarbonate to try and remove them. Erosion of the enamel can occur if these two substances aren't used correctly.

Bleach and Damage to the Gums

The bleaching agents found in your DIY system could cause damage to the gum line because the strips and trays used are one size fits all system. If the whitening agent ends up connecting with your gums, you could bleach them, as well. Considering that your gums are extremely sensitive because of the thousands of nerve endings found here, that isn't what you want to happen.

Professional teeth whitening solutions are both stronger than these home systems and are more likely to get you the results that you are looking to achieve. If you do decide to try a DIY system, please contact us for recommendations on which brand or variety will be the best fit for your unique teeth.

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Bradshaw Family Dental
& Smile Design Center

Prescott Valley
7136 East Pav Way
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
(928) 277-0076

Prescott
172 E Merritt St.
Suite F
Prescott, Arizona 86301
(928) 443-1200

Dental Blog - Prescott Valley, AZ • Bradshaw Family Dental
Dr. Frausto & Associates are providing this blog to enlighten their patients and the community. At Bradshaw Family Dental our hope is this blog will cover any issues that you and your family may need.
Bradshaw Family Dental, 7136 East Pav Way, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 ^ (928) 277-0076 ^ bradshawfamilydental.com ^ 10/9/2024 ^ Related Phrases: dentist Prescott Valley ^