After Sanitary issues, Health Dept. Allows Cranston Dentist to Reopen

A local dentist whose office was shut down last week for a variety of sanitary, equipment and paperwork issues has been given the green light to reopen after taking corrective action, according to the state Department of Health.

On March 20, state inspectors visited the office of Paul Matrullo, who practices out of 1280 Park Avenue, after receiving a complaint.

The inspectors found a host of problems including a lack of a written health program to included policies, procedures, and training guidelines; no documentation of employee HBV vaccination or blood-borne pathogen exposure training records; no alcohol based products or lotions; soap containers attached under a sink with pump next to water supply with notable soap residue found on the outside of refill containers; a single reusable eye-shield in four of the rooms and no disposable eye wear, masks or face shields; no gowns; no sterilization monitoring logs to record time, temperature, pressure and chemical indicators; and assorted sterilization issues.

A number of problems were associated with the office's steam cleaning sterilization equipment. Inspectors said the sterilizer was over-packed with "items placed on top of each other in a manner that did not allow proper sterilization" and in the office, "obvious organic issue or other debris found on multiple instruments in what was deemed by dentists to be "sterile" packages in exam rooms. Water-stained and moist instruments with water beading inside the packets were found for use in patient exam rooms."

The immediate compliance order closing the dental office was issued on March 22. On Thursday, the Department of Health amended the immediate compliance order that shut the dental office, allowing Matrullo to reopen after correcting the violations.

The health department said it will perform random inspections of the office within two weeks and again within 30 days and six months to ensure compliance.