Hom e / Dr Preeti Pathak

Dr Preeti Pathak

MBBS, MD in microbiology. She is the reason infection control at this clinic is designed by someone who studies infections for a living.

A doctor, not a dentist

Dr Preeti Pathak completed her MBBS in 2013 at Navodaya Medical College, Karnataka, under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, and her MD in microbiology at People’s University in 2026.

Microbiology is the study of bacteria, viruses and fungi: what they are, how they spread, how to identify them in a laboratory, and which medicines actually work against them. It is a hospital specialty rather than a dental one, which is precisely why having it inside a dental clinic is unusual.

Her interests are clinical microbiology, infection control practice, antimicrobial stewardship and laboratory diagnostics. She also works on quality standards in laboratory services, which is the unglamorous work that decides whether a test result can be trusted.

Education

Areas of work

Clinical microbiology
Infection control practice
Antimicrobial stewardship
Diagnostic laboratory techniques
Quality standards in laboratory services
Research methodology

What a microbiologist changes for you

This is not a title on a wall. Here is what it means for the person sitting in the chair.

Sterilisation you can trust

The instrument cycle here was designed by someone trained in how infections actually travel, and it is reviewed rather than assumed. The autoclave is tested, not just switched on.

The right antibiotic, or none

Antibiotics are handed out far too easily in dentistry. Where one is genuinely needed you get the correct one at the correct dose. Where it is not needed, you are told so.

Infections that will not settle

When a swelling keeps returning or a wound is not healing, a sample can be cultured to identify exactly what is growing, instead of trying one medicine after another.

Biopsy results read properly

When tissue is sent for testing after surgery, the report is interpreted alongside what was seen clinically. The two together give a far more reliable picture than either alone.

Care for medically complex patients

Diabetes, heart conditions, transplant medication and low immunity all change how a mouth heals and how risky an infection is. Those cases are planned with medical input.

Standards that stay consistent

Protocols are written down and followed by every member of staff, so the quality of your visit does not depend on who happens to be on duty that day.

Five stages, every single time

Scrub. Visible debris is removed immediately after use, before anything can dry on.
Ultrasonic clean. Instruments sit in a bath that uses sound waves to shake residue out of hinges and grooves that a brush cannot reach.
pouch. Each set is sealed into a pouch and dated, so its history can be traced.
Autoclave. Steam under pressure at high temperature, which is the only method that reliably kills spores.
Opened for you. The seal is broken at the chair, in front of you. If a pouch is already open when you sit down, you are entitled to ask for another.

The clinic’s daily territory: teeth, jaws, the joint they hinge on, and the bone that holds all of it together.

Have an infection that keeps coming back?

Recurring swellings, wounds that will not heal and repeated courses of antibiotics that do not fix the problem are all worth a proper look.