1. (NU) - Sponsored News - Al-
though dentists have always been
concerned about infection control
when treating patients, infection-
prevention methods were less rig-
orous in the past.Years ago, gloves
were worn only during surgical
procedures. Masks, if worn at all,
were kept on all day and with all
patients. Protective gowns were
the exception, not the rule.
Fast-forward a few decades
and dentists as well as their pa-
tients are now much more fo-
cused on the priorities that sur-
round infection control. Thanks
also to new technologies, risks
are now kept to a minimum.
One of those new technologies,
in fact, is now addressing a safety
hazard that until recently has re-
ceived little attention: backflow.
Backflow poses a risk of cross-
contamination from saliva evacu-
ation systems used to extract sali-
va while you are undergoing a
routine cleaning, as well as more
complex dental procedures.Think
of it this way:When you close your
lips around the saliva-ejector straw
or tip in your dentist’s office, there
can be a decrease in the vacuum
line pressure. This may allow pre-
viously evacuated fluid in the line
to flow backward or possibly back
into the current patient’s mouth,
bringing with it any germs left be-
hind by the previous patient or pa-
tients.According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
this happens to about 1 in 5 patients
who close their lips around the sali-
va-ejector tip.
Sowhattodo?Theanswermay
lie with St. Louis-based Stoma
Dental, which has created a new
disposable saliva-ejector valve
called the DOVE Backflow Pre-
ventionValve.This one-way valve
prevents backflow and virtually
eliminatesthiscross-contamination
riskbetweenpatients.Itallowsonly
for one-way flow or suction, and
an internal flap prevents any op-
portunity for backflow.
“After decades of concern
about backflow, it is exciting and
important to have this new option
available to offer to dental profes-
sionals and their patients, as it
brings a new level of confidence
to their infection-control efforts,”
says Gytis Udrys, DDS, in private
practice with Powell and Udrys,
Saline, MI.
The use of the new DOVE
Backflow Prevention Valve is as
easy as flipping a switch. This is
the way it works:Any dentist, hy-
gienist or dental assistant can
open and close the mechanism by
activating a switch. At the end of
each procedure, these new dis-
posable valves can be pulled off
the vacuum line and discarded,
taking mere seconds, unlike tra-
ditional metal valves that can take
more than 10 minutes, and some-
times two staff members, to dis-
assemble and sterilize.
For more information, please
visit www.besafedental.com.
Headed to the Dentist?
Beware of Backflow
HEALTH
NewsUSA
Understand the risk of
cross-contamination.
NewsUSA