Renew Dental in Phoenix, Arizona, has provided more than just top-of-the-line dental care since 2006. As they say themselves, they combine enthusiasm for the art of dentistry with compassionate and personalized care to help their patients achieve optimal oral health. They value and appreciate their patients and do all that they can to help ensure that they get the most out of their dental experience.
A big part of the dental experience: having an environment where patients feel comfortable getting the dental care they need. Renew Dental goes above and beyond to ensure they can provide this by incorporating Surfacide Helios® System into their cleaning practices. Not only do they incorporate Helios into their disinfection protocols, but they incorporate the system into their décor; leaving the UV-C robots out for patients to see. If seeing is believing, then patients have full confidence in the experience that they are getting at Renew Dental.
To learn more about why Renew Dental decided to add UV-C to their cleaning practices, we sat down with Dr. Gwen Multine and Dr. Doug Benting, the two dentists of Renew Dental, to hear from them the added benefit Surfacide has added to their practice.
Q. What made you decide to bring Surfacide Helios® System into your facility?
A. Dr. Multine: As a safety health official, I take disinfection seriously and I like to follow the rules – especially as it pertains to patient and employee safety. While we’ve always implemented strong disinfection protocols to protect our staff and patients, when the pandemic happened, there are new processes in place set forth by CDC guidelines. To ensure that we were following correctly, we started to learn about new disinfection protocols, one being UV-C. After attending a webinar about UV-C, I was blown away by it. While other clinics were looking at foggers or other devices that were putting chemicals into the air, we found Surfacide – which doesn’t produce any chemicals. The trio of low-level UV-C disinfection robots, known as the Helios System works well for our space – being that each dental room is private with doors to seal off the room during a disinfection cycle. There is also great value that the immediate-response reporting provides so that you can easily track when and where Surfacide was used.
Q. What have the reactions been from both staff and patients when they see the UV-C robots?
A. Dr. Multine: When the robots first showed up, the staff thought that they were giants! They didn’t realize that they would be so big. However, the reactions have been very favorable with staff, and new staff that have joined the team are thoroughly impressed with them.
We decided to keep them in the hallway so that patients can see them as well. This way, our team is ready to educate our patients on UV-C and the cleaning protocols that we have put in place. We aren’t skimping on caring for patients and employees, and we are happy with the positive reactions when our staff and patients see the investment we are making to enhance our cleaning protocols.
A. Dr. Benting: We had a local Arizona State University (ASU) patient share what we are doing, and now we have a lot of ASU patients coming in! It has been helpful in continuing to build our brand and patient case. In fact, based on referrals, we even have an increase in the number of immunocompromised patients we treat who selected our practice based on the UV-C lights and disinfection protocols that we’ve put in place. We have it highlighted on our website as part of our cleaning protocol, so patients are aware of it before they even come in. There is a lot of pride in being in an environment with this technology and we’re happy that our patients see that, too.
Q. How has SARS-CoV-2 changed your daily disinfection protocols? Are there any other bacteria and viruses of concern?
A. Dr Multine and Dr. Benting: While we haven’t had any major outbreaks, we do treat everyone as if they are infectious – the idea of treating the known and unknown. What makes us confident in Surfacide is the research behind the Helios low-level UV-C Disinfection System. With low-level UV-C, you can reduce vegetative bacteria, some fungi and viruses (including SARS-CoV-2). It is also very important that we put our staff first since we are such a small practice. Surfacide has given us the power to do more, and in turn that has a positive impact on our patients and staff.
Q. What would you tell other dentist clinics who were considering adding Surfacide to their facility?
A. Dr. Multine and Dr. Benting: We would absolutely recommend Surfacide to any clinic looking to bring UV-C into their facility. In fact, we’ve already recommended to quite a few people. While some may be hesitant if they are unfamiliar with UV-C, the evidence that Surfacide UV-C reducing many bacteria and virus outweighs the concerns or hesitations. Plus, with the sleek design of the robot, it has been easy to display and use as a conversation piece with everyone who comes into our office.
On the cleaning side, since we abide strictly to the rules set forth by different governing regulators, we know that the UV-C is really working and not just here for show. Incorporating it with our standard cleaning procedure, we know that after manual cleaning, these three robots will provide another layer of low-level disinfection.
Plus, the research is there. Even before the pandemic, there is enough research, specifically on Surfacide, that demonstrates its efficacy against many virus and bacteria. The consistency that the reposting allows also provides new insights that allow our team to take action. So again, we would absolutely recommend making the investment in Surfacide UV-C robots.
Partners like Renew Dental emphasize that our evidence-based UV-C robots aren’t just for hospitals: but anywhere that disinfection matters to create more comfortable environments. The commitment to disinfection that Renew Dental has provided to their staff and patients make us incredibly proud to partner with them.
To learn how you can bring the Surfacide Helios® System into your facility, contact one of Surfacide’s UV-light experts or call 844-390-3538 to schedule your demo today.
Meet our partners
Dr. Gwen Multine is a general dentist. She graduated with a D.M.D from the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health with a Certificate in Public Health from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She worked for Indian Health Services where she became trained as a Basic Safety Officer and eventually became a Certified Safety & Health Official in General Industry with an emphasis in medical and dental offices. She now works in private practice at Renew Dental and also leads the team in infection control and OSHA compliance. She also serves as a board member with the National Center for American Indian Health Professionals (NCAIHP).
Dr. Doug Benting began his career in dentistry in 2002, working with a specialty dental group in Minnesota and as a part-time faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. In 2006, the lure of warmer weather and the opportunity to develop a patient-centered prosthodontic practice brought him to Arizona. Dr. Benting has served as an adjunct faculty member at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health and is currently a resident faculty member at Spear Education. A graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Dr. Benting continued his education with a prosthodontic specialty residency program and earned a Master of Science in dentistry in 2002. Dr. Benting completed the process to become a Board Certified fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists in 2011.
