The Dental Implant Learning Center

Oral Implantology is the fastest growing segment of clinical cosmetic dentistry, and many general dentists are learning surgical implant placement. However, with the excitement of incorporating implantology in your practice comes the responsibility of maintaining a more rigorous standard of infection control, the Aseptic Technique. You may wonder, what exactly Is the aseptic technique, and more importantly, how is it practiced in surgical implant dentistry?

What is the Aseptic Technique?

Simply put, the Aseptic Technique is the method used to prevent cross-contamination and the spread of harmful bacteria. Use of the aseptic technique during dental surgical procedures, and particularly dental implant surgery, is a critical component to proper healing, a successful surgical result, and the health of your patient.

While the Clean Technique is routinely practiced in modern dental offices (this includes hand washing, the use of non-sterile gloves and masks, and a strict sterilization process for instruments), the aseptic technique should be the standard for any surgical dental implant procedure as a protection to the patient, surgical team, and yourself.

What Do I Need to Practice Aseptic Technique?

The Joint Commission outlines four aspects to the aseptic technique.

• Barriers – Sterile gowns, sterile drapes, sterile gloves, and masks.
• Patient and Equipment Preparation – Antiseptic skin preparation for the patient, sterile instruments, sterile equipment and devices such as handpieces and surgical burs.
• Environmental Controls – Doors should be kept closed, traffic in and out of the operatory should be minimized, and only necessary personnel present during the surgical procedure.
• Contact to Contact Guidelines – Only sterile to sterile contact is allowed. The chairside assistant and doctor will rely on a secondary assistant to open non-sterile items, record operative notes, etc. The secondary assistant will not touch any sterile field, instruments or equipment.

Assistants and staff not already familiar with the aseptic technique should be trained in proper protocol, which will include the preparation and storage of all items necessary in aseptic technique, operatory set up, maintaining the sterility of instruments, drapes, and equipment, as well as what is expected from a chairside and secondary assistant. Many dental implant continuing education programs, such as the 3 Day Live Implant Surgery Program, encourage bringing along your assistant so that they can see the aseptic technique being practiced from start to finish in surgical dental implant procedures, ask any questions they may have, and get firsthand information about surgical setup, autoclaving and storing sterile items, and assisting during dental implant surgery.

How is the Aseptic Technique Applied? 

The application of the aseptic technique begins with the preparation and sterilization of the complete surgical setup. This will include instrumentation, stainless steel basins, handpieces, surgical burs, suction and saliva ejector tips, polypropylene tubing for suction hoses, and cotton gauze.  For convenience, you may choose to have a supply of these items on hand for quick setup, or you may prepare the items in advance of each surgical case.

• The surgical instruments (ie retractors, mirrors, etc.) can be wrapped in the basins and autoclaved together.
• Handpieces should be wrapped and autoclaved individually.
• Surgical burs can be wrapped and autoclaved on a bur block for ease of access.
• A suction tip and saliva ejector may be packaged and autoclaved together.
• Polypropylene tubing can be cut to length for suction and handpiece hoses to be autoclaved.
• A supply of 2×2 and 4×4 gauze can be autoclaved for use during surgery and for post-operative care.
• Alcohol solution and sterile saline rinse should be on hand for necessary non-sterile burs, etc.

Once the sterile supplies are prepared, you can move forward with the operatory set up. You may assign 1 or 2 assistants to the setup. All non-sterile draping should be applied first (light handle covers, headrest cover, etc.), followed by the draping of the operatory tray. All sterile items should be placed upon a sterile field and handled by an assistant wearing sterile gloves. Any necessary surgical items that have not been sterilized previously must be placed in the alcohol solution before being handled or placed on the sterile field. Instrumentation setup and the placing of sterile drapes should be done in sterile gloves.

During Surgical Procedures

When the implant surgery or other surgical procedure is under way, the chairside assistant will confine all movements to the sterile field, instruments should be passed to the doctor above the sterile field, and both will rely on the secondary assistant to provide any additional items necessary. The secondary assistant will open all sterile packets by grasping the corners and emptying contents on the sterile tray, including individual implants. Note that dental implants are packaged in an outer non-sterile container and inner sterile vial, so the secondary assistant may open the outer container and empty the sterile vial onto the sterile field.

There are several sterile items you may choose to have in multiple for each procedure, such as sterile gauze packs, handpieces, sterile gloves for both the doctor and assistant, and basic instrumentation. Having extras on hand will ensure a smooth implant surgery even if an item is dropped or otherwise becomes unsterile.

Conclusion

While applying the aseptic technique in surgical dentistry requires planning ahead and extra steps both before and during surgical implant procedures, it is vital to reduce to likelihood of cross-contamination or infection as much as possible. This is as much to protect your patient and team as it is to protect your implant practice, as well as an integral part of the success of the implant surgery and site healing. Making the aseptic technique a routine part of your surgical implant practice will be one way in which you can offer your patients the gold standard of care in implantology.

Resources

http://www.virox.com/files_docs/content/pdf/msds/dental.pdf

http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/CLABSI_Toolkit_Tool_3-8_Aseptic_versus_Clean_Technique.pdf

http://medical.tpub.com/14275/css/Rules-Of-The-Aseptic-Technique-152.htm

See practical application of the aseptic technique while learning Oral Implantology at the Basic Surgical Implant Mini Residency. Follow 15 patient cases and prepare for the AAID and ICOI Fellowship credentials. Register before October 15, 2016 to qualify for our Early Bird tuition. Register Here Now.

The Dental Implant Learning Center is a state of the art dental continuing education facility, located just 10 minutes from NYC. The Center offers Day, Weekend, and 3 Day intensive hands on courses, its popular year long Mini-Residency in surgical implant dentistry, and a 3 month Advanced Surgical Mini Residency. The director, John Minichetti, DMD, Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology, is a general dentist himself and understands the needs of his dental implant training attendees. Hundreds of students have attended his courses; many are now routinely performing dental implant surgery.

The CE Questions You Need to Ask

Choosing a surgical continuing education program that aligns with your practice goals and learning style can seem overwhelming. Traditional courses “cram” too much information in a short time or offer only lectures with didactic information.  Frustration occurs when the clinician is “loaded” with information and on Monday is unable to implement what was taught.  That combined with the lack of live surgical observation or even practical experience is only a deterrent to the confidence needed to perform dental implant procedures. With so many choices, what information do you need to consider when choosing a dental implant CE program for your needs?

Some factors to weigh would be:

1. Learning Outcomes: Are they clearly stated and in line with your education goals?
2. Instructional Methods: What are they and what level of student involvement is offered?
3. Clinician Expertise: Is the instructor an expert with demonstrated experience in the area of study?
4. Program Format/Length: Is it long enough to adequately cover learning objectives?

Having identified CE programs that meet your basic education requirements, you can begin narrowing down choices. Ask yourself:

• Is it ADA/AGD approved?
• Is it affordable?
• Is the location convenient?
• How are the peer reviews or testimonials?
• Does it offer proof of application
• Is the material presented in a generic non commercial biased format?
• Does the material show scientific basis?
• What is the cancellation policy?

Dr. John Minichetti, Director of the Dental Implant Learning Center and referred to by many of his colleagues as the “Implant Daddy” explains how to choose a CE course in line with the trends in dentistry.

Implantology is the fastest growing segment of clinical dentistry. As past president of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology, Dr. Minichetti is a general dentist who understands the needs of his course attendees. Hundreds of graduate dentists from Learning Center CE programs now routinely perform dental implant surgery and bone grafting procedures.  Here he explains how to choose CE courses in bone grafting and dental implants.

Establishing your education goals and requirements, planning the CE path that fits your circumstances, and doing your research will make choosing the best CE program for you a less daunting proposition. The Dental Implant Learning Center offers Day, Weekend, and 3 Day intensive hands on and live surgery courses, the Las Vegas AAID Maxicourse, its popular year-long Mini-Residency in surgical implant dentistry, and the 3 month Advanced Surgical Mini Residency.

Participants of our comprehensive programs learn implant dentistry on a consistent weekly basis with academic material from a core curriculum, guest lecturers, hands on exercises and viewing live surgery. Students can participate in laboratory exercises and perform live surgery under the supervision of the director. This repetitive tell, show and do method of teaching gives the dentist clinical time to review instruction and bring practical experience to and from their own offices. Class sizes are limited to ensure individual attention. The CE programs really teach practical, predictable implant training and allows for mentoring after graduation. The Dental Implant Learning Center has been written up in the Dental Tribune, Dental Products Reports, Doctors of Dentistry, Inside Dentistry and on line at Dental Connections.

Registration is now open on our 2016-2017 dental implant courses. Click here to see available CE programs. For questions or more information on CE courses, contact our CE Coordinator Esther Yang by calling 201.871.3555 (or toll free at 866.586.0521) or by email at [email protected]. We look forward to helping you discover how far you can take your dental implant education!

The Dental Implant Learning Center is a state of the art dental continuing education facility, located just 10 minutes from NYC. The Center offers Day, Weekend, and 3 Day intensive hands on courses, its popular year long Mini-Residency in surgical implant dentistry, and a 3 month Advanced Surgical Mini Residency. The director, John Minichetti, DMD, Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology, is a general dentist himself and understands the needs of his dental implant training attendees. Hundreds of students have attended his courses; many are now routinely performing dental implant surgery.

2016 CO2 Laser Course Highlights

Keeping up with current dental technology often means being able to offer optimized patient care. Recognizing this, the Dental Implant Learning Center recently hosted a CO2 Laser Training Course during the 2016 Basic Surgical Implant Mini-Residency Program. This course was designed to help clinicians integrate laser technology into their own practice for use in periodontal and implant procedures. Utilizing laser technology for surgical procedures can mean enhanced precision and reduced surgical time for the doctor, as well as less discomfort and postoperative healing time for patients, resulting in an elevated level of patient care. Read on to view some of the highlights from the 2016 Laser Training Course!

Hands On Participation

Attendees were able to participate in a Hands On exercise, as well as view Live Surgical Demonstrations of discussed laser techniques.

It takes a team!

Live staff implant surgery training was offered, and assistants were able to be chairside during procedures.

Lateral Window Sinus Graft 

Dr. Ari Frolick performs a lateral window sinus graft using an SLA kit and demonstrates how to repair a membrane perforation.

Post surgical wrap up with Dr. Frolick

Returning Alumni

We welcomed some of our past residents back for the Laser Technology Course. Here’s Dr. Simon Kappel and Dr. Angelina Asaza with their thoughts on the course and the Mini Residency program.

The 2016 Laser Technology Training Course is just one of the many programs the Dental Implant Learning Center offers to clinicians looking to further their implant education and expand their surgical expertise. We’re happy to announce we now offer an Advanced Implant Surgery Mini Residency, a 3 month course designed for those with some implant placement experience who wish to hone their surgical skills and have the confidence to take on the more advanced implant cases. The Mini Residency includes the popular Cadaver Program, a 3 day Live Surgery module, and just added, a Staff Training module. We’ve also recently added fall dates for the Cancun Live Implant Surgery Course, with registration for the October 12-16, 2016 dates opening soon.

For more information on these or other ce courses, visit our website at dentalimplantlearningcenter.com, contact our CE Coordinator Esther Yang by calling 201.871.3555 (or toll free at 866.586.0521) or by email at [email protected]. We look forward to helping you discover how far you can take your dental implant education!

The Dental Implant Learning Center is a state of the art dental continuing education facility, located just 10 minutes from NYC. The Center offers Day, Weekend, and 3 Day intensive hands on courses, its popular year long Mini-Residency in surgical implant dentistry, and a 3 month Advanced Surgical Mini Residency. The director, John Minichetti, DMD, Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology, is a general dentist himself and understands the needs of his dental implant training attendees. Hundreds of students have attended his courses; many are now routinely performing dental implant surgery.