Infection Control and Sterilisation

With the memories of COVID-19 and masks and spread of infection starting to become more distant, the idea of infection control remains foremost in the dental environment.  In fact, infection Control is the BIGGEST thing that we deal with on a DAILY basis. It always has been, and always will be!  Whether we are talking about COVID19; the common cold; serious illnesses; or even day to day oral bacteria - EVERY patient that we see in the dental practice can be guaranteed that they will be sitting down in a clean environment and being treated by sterile instruments.  The hub of all of this is the sterilisation room.  Most people don't see or even think about the behind the scenes work that our dedicated team do to make this a reality.

Before and after EACH patient, EVERY surface is wiped and cleaned. All instruments are taken to the Sterilisation room for decontaminating and then sterilising.  To do this, there is a sequence of processing which ensures that each instrument is treated with due care and attention and returned to the surgeries in STERILE pouches. Anything that cannot be sterilised is disposable. This chain of events is known as infection control.  This is what takes time in the change-over of patients.  This process is a labour intensive and is the reason that we have plenty of staff to manage it.  This is also the greatest reason why dental treatment is often as expensive as it is - because THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS TO STERILISATION AND INFECTION CONTROL. 

You can feel comfortable at that Stanhope Dental Centre, all infection control processes are being carried out to their highest possible standard and you are in a clean and healthy environment. As you come through our practice, you will see an open and tidy sterilisation room which we are happy to show to any patients or give you a tour of the process on request.

Are you in a Health Fund?

The Australian Dental Association has recently had a look across the board at a lot of health funds and found a common query from patients.... "Why are my Health Fund rebates for dental treatment so low?"  If you would like to know what was uncovered, visit www.ada.org.au/rebates and you can read all about it.  You are certainly not alone.  A lot of patients across a lot of funds are experiencing similar issues.  See what else you can do!

Know your fund and know your year - this can also effect how you claim.  A "health fund year" can be defined as a Calendar year (January to December), Financial year (1 July through to 30 June) or Anniversary year (Date of policy start).  You should check with your Private Dental Health Fund about which "year" applies to your level of cover. 

Notice to all patients:

Since April 1 2020, Dr Selina Leow has changed her role within the practice.  For further information, please ring the surgery where we can give you a detailed report.

We thank you for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Selina M. Leow   BDS(Syd) GDipForOdont (Adel)

Dr Darren J. Calleia  BDS(Syd)

Principal Dental Surgeons