Esthetic Dental Center Ltd is a small dental clinic in the centre of Croatia’s capital city Zagreb. This area is the core around which most dental practices function and the city is the hub of social, cultural and economic activities.
We focus mostly on aesthetic dentistry, implantology, prosthodontics and endodontics. Our clientele are both domestic
and foreign, with many patients visiting Croatia from abroad for dental packages that include travel arrangements and accommodation. This is one of the reasons why we hold the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Certificate and are recognised by
the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry (ESCD) as well as the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Our dentists are members of the Croatian Chamber of Dental Medicine and these accreditations guarantee the quality
of our work.
The facilities at the clinic consist of two treatment rooms with two dental units (the A-dec Performer and KaVo Esthetica) and we have an OPG cabinet and sterilisation cabinet. The clinic has separate reception and waiting rooms as well as a locker/rest room for the team, which consists of two dentists, four dental assistants and one receptionist. We also work with external associates to expand our treatment provision when necessary, including an oral surgeon and periodontologist. Aside from the clinic staff, we also employ specialist companies to take care of our marketing activities and website design, as well as a cleaning company to clean non-clinical areas of the practice such as the waiting room and bathrooms.
We open for business from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday but we try to keep the number of patients limited to a maximum of 10 per day. Appointment duration time is 60 minutes as standard, which enables us to extend an individual approach. This means that we can deliver outstanding quality of dental care and high standards of service for every patient.
As with all dentists practising in Europe, we are required to maintain exemplary hygiene standards, adhering to regulations set by various governing bodies and health inspectors regularly visit the practice for inspection.
For everyday dentistry disposable gloves, protective clothing, masks and face shields are mandatory for clinical staff. To prevent cross contamination, our dental assistants thoroughly clean and disinfect every part of the dental unit from the turbines to the lights; we use OCC Switzerland disinfectant wipes and sprays after every patient. One dental assistant is responsible for each dental unit, ensuring all single-use instruments are disposed of at this time, and the surgery room is then set up for the next patient with the necessary instruments according to the treatment plan. Any hazardous waste such as needles and scalpel blades are also collected in a separate, secure container, as per official protocol.
Some dental offices fail to give proper attention to disinfection of dental impressions during the prosthodontic work. This is actually a very important thing due to the high risk of cross contamination within the dental laboratory. Also, choosing the proper disinfectant is a key to the impression dimensional stability – the goal is to avoid any distortions and errors caused by the improper disinfectant solution and/or storage.
For re-useable instruments that have come into contact with a patient, strict sterilisation procedures are followed. Instruments are washed, rinsed and dried by hand, before being placed into bags and then into our class B autoclave. According to the regulations, following effective sterilisation, instruments are finally packed and stored safely. Autoclave efficiency is checked daily through chemical indicators (colour changing parts of the sterilisation bags), physical indicators (the pressure, the temperature and the time) and monthly through biological (spore)
indicators.
Advertisement is one of the several keys for the success of a dental office. Patients give more and more attention to the hygiene of the whole office and its employees, so in my opinion, a smart business decision would be to include good disinfection protocols and modern devices in advertising. The main reason for the rising public awareness for diseases is probably the internet along with other media (TV, radio, printed media). So, why not point out that our office possess a great autoclave, ISO certificates and strict regulations? Furthermore, we insert some pictures of the employees wearing protective gear during the working day to give patients further reassurance.
Dentistry in Croatia
There are more than 3,200 dental personnel in Croatia, with a ratio of 7.2 to 10,000 members of the population. In recent years, Croatia has become a popular country for dental tourism, attracting people from across Europe and
the US due to high standards and lower costs than other European locations.