Not only is dental office cleaning essential to the health and safety of your patients, but it is also a great way to make your staff and patients feel comfortable while visiting your medical office. Is your dental office cleaning regimen meeting your standards for sanitation? Our medical office cleaning experts at Spotless Janitorial Services have provided a thorough dental office cleaning checklist to help you improve cleaning practices.
Why Follow a Checklist for Dental Office Cleaning
There are a lot of things to consider when you put together a list for cleaning. When you go to determine which areas of your office should be cleaned, think about the areas that see the highest traffic and have the most touch points. This will help you to establish a proper cleaning schedule.
Another great way to help you identify those high touchpoints is to consider the patient experience. What do they first see, do, and touch when they enter the office? Thinking about a patient’s pathway in your office is a good place to start, and then think about the less frequent tasks from there.
Main Duties to Take Care Of
1. Disinfect frequently touched areas
In a dental office, the medical equipment is not the only thing that should be regularly disinfected. Your staff should be disinfecting all frequently touched areas regularly to stop the spread of germs and maintain a comfortable space. These areas may include waiting room chairs, door handles, cabinets, sinks, and patient chairs.
2. Do not neglect the washrooms
Although many medical office workers tend to focus on operatories and patient waiting areas as primary points of concern, dental office cleaning should extend to the washrooms as well. A sanitary and clean washroom is essential to making a positive first impression on new patients and maintaining overall cleanliness.
3. Stay on top of dusting
Dust is not only unsightly, but it can lead to unwanted particles floating through the air, disturbing your patients and staff. You should frequently dust susceptible areas by using handheld dusters with extenders on high surfaces, and cleaning the floors with a broom or mop.
4. Declutter
If you have hired a reliable commercial cleaning service, the most important point of concern for your staff may be simply decluttering the space. A cluttered reception desk stacked with papers or a messy children’s area will make your medical office appear unorganized. Encourage your staff to maintain a clean and organized space at all times.
5. Meet industry standards for health and safety
Regulatory bodies have put numerous standards in place to protect patients and employees through proper medical office cleaning. By reviewing these industry standards and aligning them to your current cleaning practices, you can ensure adequate dental office cleaning. Spotless Janitorial Services is WSIB covered and our team is trained to meet industry cleaning standards in medical facilities.
Dental Office Cleaning Template Checklist
In order to assist you in establishing a personal list that works for your dental office, we’ve come up with a checklist of many things that you can consider for your own dental office cleaning. This template checklist will ensure that your dental office is up to the best standard for cleanliness. We’ve put together a checklist that breaks down areas to clean daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly.
Daily Cleaning Duties
Reception/Waiting Room:
- Wipe computer keyboards and mice.
- Sanitize light switches and phones.
- Use a safe cleaning agent to disinfect toys in the children’s play area (if your office has one).
- Get rid of loose trash and empty food and water containers.
- Clean guest pens and the reception desk area.
- Disinfect waiting area tables, chairs, and door handles.
- Organize and wipe down magazines and other reading materials in the waiting room.
- If needed, empty trash bins and replace them with new bags.
- Straighten up loose paperwork, mail, patient charts, and anything similar that may be scattered over the reception desk.
- Give the reception area a thorough vacuum.
- Straighten up the waiting area furniture.
Bathrooms
- Refill paper towel dispensers and restock toilet paper, if necessary.
- Refill soap dispensers.
- Sweep and mop the floors.
- Scrub toilets and urinals.
- Wipe down countertops with a cleaning agent.
- Disinfect door handles, light switches, faucet handles, and any other high touchpoints.
Kitchen/Break Room:
- Clean out the coffee maker.
- Sweep and mop the floors.
- If necessary, load, run, or empty the dishwasher.
- Refill paper towel dispensers.
- Disinfect door handles, light switches, countertops, and faucet handles.
- Use a cleaning agent to wipe down countertops and any other surfaces.
- Check if soap and hand sanitizer dispensers need to be filled.
Weekly Cleaning Duties
Patient Areas:
- Clear cobwebs and dust from the corners.
- Look around for accumulated dust and dust surfaces such as cabinets, photo frames, shelves, and desks.
- Vacuum or wipe down mats and rugs.
- Thoroughly sweep, vacuum, and mop all floors.
Reception/Waiting Room:
- Look around for accumulated dust and dust surfaces such as cabinets, photo frames, shelves, and desks.
- Check if tissue boxes need replacing.
- Empty full waste bins and disinfect them. Replace them with a new trash bag.
- Check for cobwebs and dust from the corners and clear them if needed.
- If there are confidential documents that are no longer needed, shred them.
- Thoroughly sweep, vacuum, and mop all floors.
Bathroom:
- Wipe down the bathroom mirrors.
- Empty full waste bins and disinfect them. Replace them with a new trash bag.
- Thoroughly sweep/vacuum and mop all floors.
- Dust and wipe down mats and rugs.
- Check for cobwebs and dust from the corners and clear them if needed.
Kitchen/Break Rooms:
- Mop floors thoroughly. Move chairs and tables out of the way to make sure you’ve cleaned it properly.
- Empty full waste bins and disinfect them. Replace them with a new trash bag.
- Dust and wipe down mats and rugs.
- Clean out the refrigerator. Check for unmarked food and throw it out if necessary.
- Use a disinfectant to wipe down countertops. Be sure to move appliances aside as you do this.
- Check for cobwebs and dust from the corners and clear them if needed.
- Sanitize the outside and inside of the refrigerator.
Bi-Weekly Cleaning Duties
In addition to weekly duties, the following tasks should be done every two weeks:
- Discard clinical waste: Every dental office has a designated bin for clinical waste. To ensure that bacteria and germs don’t grow, these bins should be regularly cleaned out. Make sure that you are disposing of them properly and following the industry code for disposing of dental waste to avoid being fined.
- Take inventory of and restock the following items:
- Paper towel
- Toilet paper
- Soap
- Hand sanitizer
- Trash bags
- Cleaning supplies
Monthly Cleaning Duties
Patient Area:
- Vacuum room vents.
- Wipe down chairs.
- Dust all surfaces, including baseboards. Make sure that you start from the top and work your way to the bottom.
- Check if curtains need to be cleaned and wash them if necessary.
- Wipe down glass surfaces with a glass cleaner (tables, windows, etc.).
- Polish and linoleum floors, if necessary.
Reception/Waiting Room:
- Vacuum and wipe down chairs.
- Dust all surfaces, including baseboards.
- Replace old reading materials.
- Wipe down glass surfaces with a glass cleaner.
- Check if curtains need to be cleaned and wash them if necessary.
Kitchen/Break Rooms:
- Vacuum and wipe down chairs.
- Wipe down glass surfaces with a glass cleaner.
- Dust and/or wash blinds. Wash curtains as well, if necessary.
- Run vinegar through the coffee maker to give it a deep clean.
Bathroom:
- Wipe down and disinfect glass surfaces with a glass cleaner.
- Check any curtains or window treatments for freshness.
- Clean windowsills.
Spotless Janitorial Office Offers Dental Office Cleaning Services
With this checklist in mind, you’ll be protecting the patients and staff in your medical office and maintaining a high standard of sanitation. Of course, every clinic is different so some tasks may need to be completed more frequently while others not so often. However, one of the best ways to maintain a clean dental office is to find a team that can take care of the details professionally and keep your office looking spotless. Spotless Janitorial Office offers dental office cleaning in Brampton, Mississauga, and Milton.
To learn more about our excellent dental office cleaning services, contact us today and receive a quote on the work you need to be done!
