Healthy Air

Remember when we blogged about aerosols in the air, that can contain human contaminants and potentially infectious germs? They're fine droplets coming from patients while they are getting dental treatment and they can linger in the air for hours. If these microorganisms come into contact with someone else (like it's breathed in by another person), that's when illness can spread. It's one of the reasons we insist on permitting entry to visitors only if they wear a mask. We're not doing it to impose on people's rights, we're doing it to make the environment safer for you, for us and for everyone who comes to our office.

So we are taking air pollution seriously. In the average home, you get potential off gasses from carpeting, from paint, flooring, furniture, cleaning products and volatile organic compounds coming from flooring and materials that when into your building etc. - all of which affect indoor air quality. And things are worse when ventilation is poor. And outdoor pollutants can also come indoors - especially if you keep the windows open.

We're working hard on improving your experience at our ALFIE offices. And in addition to many of these concerns of air quality - we've got our dental-specific concerns as well - like the aerosols mentioned earlier. There's also the concern for shed squamae from skin from all visitors, that can carry staphylococcus aureus amongst other pathogens. Once it's shed onto the floors, movement from people can make these float back up and therefore act as a vehicle for transmission. Dental offices are also considered high traffic areas - especially when you compare it to someone's home. And as you can probably imagine, people from all walks of life are in and out of our buildings.

The great news, however, is that we're vigilant on keeping everyone safe. And this isn't a new thing, because we have always understood our role in infection control. We have always been taking universal precautions to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. We've simply upped our game when COVID hit and we intend on top quality maintenance as well as keeping up with the latest innovations that will help protect our Smiling Stars and staff.

So the latest addition - and you may have seen them for several weeks now - are our new air purifiers. They take care of the air pollution, pollen from outside, airborne bacteria and microorganisms, dust, and allergens.

If you have any concerns with respect to feeling safe in our offices, please don't hesitate to send us a quick email.