Ensuring hygienic dental care equipment
Only extremely clean, disinfected and sterile instruments are safe to use. Kiilto provides effective and functional solutions for the cleaning and disinfection of medical instruments and equipment.
When it comes to effective hygiene practices, among the challenges of oral healthcare are the wide variation in the nature and difficulty of the care procedures, and the number of patients treated during the working day. In a dental care unit, the level of hygiene must be high enough that every patient can be treated safely, even if the patient or the healthcare professional have either a symptomless or known infectious disease. Washing and disinfection must be carried out in accordance with the appropriate CE-marked prepared solutions or other substances. With the right products and techniques, a high standard of instrument hygiene is possible.
Aseptic working practices guarantee safety
By always proceeding in cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation from clean to dirty, it is possible to ensure that infections are not spread from one patient to another through instruments or equipment. In addition to aseptic instruments and equipment, impeccable cleanliness also requires hand hygiene, as microbial transfer via the hands is one of the major problems in healthcare.
Step by step for best results
Immediately after the dental procedure, the instruments can be pretreated by removing visible dirt, after which they are washed and disinfected. The purpose of pretreatment is to clean the instruments and equipment to remove the risk of infection as soon as possible after use, to allow safe handling. Pre-treatment also extends the service life of the instruments and other equipment.
The hygiene class of dental care equipment is determined by the type of procedure and the type of tissue the instrument has to come into contact with. Cleaning is enough for hand-held mirrors and protective goggles, for example, as these do not come into contact with the patient’s mucous membranes. Cleaning removes dirt, dust and most microbes from the instruments, and is carried out mechanically with dirt-removing detergents.
The purpose of disinfection is to reduce the amount of microbes on the devices to such a level that they can no longer cause infection. Instruments are disinfected either through heat treatment in a washing machine, or chemically with broad-spectrum disinfectants. Most instruments can be washed directly, but instruments that are heat-sensitive or otherwise unsuited to direct treatment are disinfected to remove the risk of infection before being washed by hand. Only clean instruments can be sterilised.
As soon as possible after washing and disinfecting, the instruments and equipment are dried and checked to ensure they are clean and in good working order. Instruments that cannot be washed immediately after use can be coated with protective gel to inhibit bacterial growth and prevent dirt from drying onto the surface.
Read more about the products:
HYDRAGEL ERISAN DES ERISAN OXY+ EASYDES ALU DEKO
Would you like more information on solutions and products to help ensure patient safety? Contact one of our regional representatives!
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