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!

Should You Be Using a Toothpick?

Posted on 4/15/2016 by Dr. Andrew Zeiger

A man with a toothpick cleaning his mouth.

You are out to dinner with your spouse when you feel like you have something stuck in your teeth. This can be extremely annoying, as suddenly, the only thing you can think about is that food debris that is wedged between your molars. You may reach for a toothpick in order to get it out, but is that really the best idea?

Wooden toothpicks have been a popular method for keeping the teeth clean, and it is one that is used all over the world. In some countries, this is actually the best way to clean between the teeth because there are no other viable alternatives, but in the U.S., we have more choices available to use. If, however, you do choose to use a toothpick, there are a few things to keep in mind:

•	Occasional toothpick use is fine as long as you use them gently
•	Accidental stabs with a toothpick are painful and can cause recession of the gums
•	Toss your toothpick out after use rather than sucking on it or holding it in your teeth
•	Never allow children to use toothpicks, as they could injure their gums and could possibly even swallow them

Instead of using toothpicks, take some time to plan ahead for the inevitable situation of getting food stuck in your teeth. Keep some floss or a toothbrush in your glove compartment or in your purse so that you access it easily when needed.

You can also invest in some flexible dental picks that will allow you to extract food from your teeth without having to worry about damage to your gums and soft tissues.

If you are a habitual toothpick user, your dentist will probably be able to tell due to the damage to your teeth and gums. In these situations, alternatives will likely be recommended in order to improve your smile and the health of your teeth.

So please contact us today for more information on toothpicks.

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Bradshaw Family Dental
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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 | 12/4/2024 | Tags: dentist Prescott Valley |