Our office is a 1600 square foot facility that Dr. McArdle aquired in the year 2000 and features a beautiful view of Portsmouth's North Mill Pond. The suite was renovated that year to Dr. McArdle's exact specifications with hospital standard grade materials in all patient treatment areas. There are four operatories (treatment rooms), all of which are private. Each operatory has its own x-ray unit for our patients' convenience and we also have a panoramic x-ray machine for the evaluation of impacted wisdom teeth and TMJ problems.
When last the New Hampshire State Board of Radiological Health conducted an inspection of the x-ray equipment in Dr. McArdle's office, it was found that patient exposure-at-skin-entrance (ESE) radiation levels were, on average, well BELOW established safety guidelines. These findings are most probably attributable to the fact that Dr. McArdle has ALL the apparatus in his office, including his five x-ray units, serviced by qualified dental equipment technicians on a semiannual basis and now uses digital x-ray technology that requires even less radiation than traditional systems.
Our laboratory and sterilization areas are separate, with provisional crowns for implants and bleaching trays made in-house. We sterilize our instruments between patients by means of the pressurized steam method in an autoclave, which is monitored weekly for quality control. A back-up unit is kept ready on-site.
Our office is fully computerized and all dental benefit claims are processed electronically. We are centrally located from all directions and free off-street parking is available.
Our office possesses a uniquely flexible music system that features the ability to play CDs, FM radio broadcasts and 150 channels of digital music in a multitude of styles accessed from the internet. You can request a certain type of music be played at your visit to our office or you can bring in a favorite CD for us to play while you are here. We will honor your request (within reason) so long as it is compatible with our office atmosphere and is agreeable to other patients present in the office.
Below are the procedures we follow to protect you when you visit our office as a dental patient. We welcome any questions you may have regarding infection control and we will show you our sterilization area if you would like to see it.
Infection Control in the Dental Office - All clinical staff members and the doctor wear gloves, masks and safety goggles, or face shields for all invasive procedures. Hands are washed and a new pair of treatment gloves is used for each individual patient contact. Nothing beyond the treatment rooms is touched while wearing treatment gloves.
- Doctors and clinical staff wear disposable gowns and clinical shoes. They do not wear their gowns and clinical shoes away from the office.
- Equipment nozzles, handles (including the handles for overhead lights), all work surfaces, x-ray heads, dental equipment and dental chairs are disinfected before and after each patient.
- All dental instruments that go in your mouth, including dental handpieces (drills), are sterilized in a steam autoclave or are disposable after a single use.
- All patients undergoing invasive procedures use a disinfectant oral rinse to prevent microbial contamination of the office environment.
- Our dental unit water lines are disinfected using a unit by Atlas Water Systems that emits ultraviolet light which is known to inhibit bacteria.
