An Autoclave known as “Lisa.”

This topic is of concern to a lot of people, and rightly so. With all the new viruses and bacteria, we need to be concerned about the health of our families when we visit the dentist. Since the 20/20 television program in which Barbara Walters presented “Dentistry’s Dirty Little Secret,” more and more patients value the ultimate in instrument hygiene. Dr. Herman has installed the latest and most effective autoclaving equipment for instrument sterilization.

Other autoclaves, after using the same water over and over to make steam, kick the door open for the drying cycle. This provides a dark, warm, moist environment, ideal for germ life. Our “Lisa” sterilization unit uses fresh, distilled water for each cycle, and dumps the once-used water into a “gray” (waste) tank for subsequent disposal. “Lisa” keeps its door shut, and dries the sterilized instruments while vacuuming all the air out of the chamber. It operates in a vacuum for both the sterilizing and cool-down cycles.

How do we know our instruments are sterile? In addition to a built-in sensor on “Lisa,” which confirms proper sterilization, Dr.Herman has independent tests run weekly as double confirmation. You may be assured that our state-of-the-art technology includes the very latest in sterilization.