The Patient Centered Dental-Health Home 2023-2026 - 27

Fundamentals
How the operatory is designed, equipped, and
located is one of the most significant decisions
you will make. This is because of how it impacts
workflow, the employees' and patients' experience,
as well as their well-being. Locate the sterilization
area as centrally to the operatories as possible. If
your clinic has windows, a design that incorporates
them into the operatories improves the experience
for the patient and provides natural light for the
dentist. Natural light aids the accurate choice of
composite and tooth shades.
EXPERT ADVICE:
Standardize operatories to one style and
layout for all. In fact, if you have multiple
office sites, it is optimum that all the
offices have the same operatory layout,
and as far as possible, the same workflow.
During times of new staff acclamation
or staff shortages, standardization
allows team members to work anywhere
with ease and without impediment to
efficiency. The only exception should
be if you choose to add closing doors to
an operatory for the purpose of special
treatment requirements. Doors on
standard operatories are not necessary,
and add to construction costs. Poorly
placed, they can impede operatory access
by staff. An operatory with a door should
therefore be larger.
We recommend one of the following operatory
layouts depending on your needs and budget:
* A simple and less costly operatory design uses
a T wall with a 4'-5' opening in the center of the
operatory wall that has the hall access. A passthru
cabinet in a shared operatory wall houses
the X-ray machine for use between adjoining
operatories. Swing delivery off the dental chair
is the recommended delivery unit choice
* An ergonomically sound and efficient
recommendation is an operatory with access
23SM2038
from the hallway on either side of a 12 o'clock
cabinet. This type of design allows the dentist
and support staff to readily enter and leave
the space without interfering with activity. The
12:00 o'clock cabinet is ideally positioned to
accommodate operatory equipment and the
dental delivery system. From an ergonomic
standpoint, with an assistant trained in fourhanded
dental technique, this position is superior
* Adjoining operatories can share center island
cabinetry; the cabinetry comes in many
designs and provides storage, writing spaces,
handwashing stations, and X-ray machine
housing
Sterilization Bay
The sterilization bay is perhaps the most critical
support area in a dental facility. To comply with
standards established by the CDC, and to promote
efficiency, the sterilization area design should
flow from the intake of contaminated instruments
and trays to their storage upon completion
of sterilization. The key sterilization
areas defined by the CDC are
Receiving (intake); Cleaning and
Decomtamination; Preparation and
Packaging; Sterilization; Storage
of Sterile Items.
First, the intake area needs
a surface for unloading
trays, disposal of nonreusable
sharps in sharps
containers (however,
we do recommend that
disposable sharps be
placed in a sharps container
in the operatory directly
after use), and used cotton
rolls and gauze in a biohazard
container. The containers can
be placed under the counter
accessed by a hole for disposal
through the counter or a foot tap to
open trash storage below the counter.
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The Patient Centered Dental-Health Home 2023-2026

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