{"id":1076,"date":"2019-08-29T15:20:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T13:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/laboratory-en\/protocollo-di-pulizia-del-riunito-odontoiatrico-la-disinfezione-dei-circuiti-di-aspirazione\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T14:42:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T12:42:21","slug":"dental-unit-cleaning-protocol-disinfection-of-suction-circuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/hygiene-en\/dental-unit-cleaning-protocol-disinfection-of-suction-circuits\/","title":{"rendered":"Dental unit cleaning protocol: disinfection of suction circuits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The dental unit is where all medical\nprocedures are performed on the patient. As well as being an indispensable\ncomponent of the dental practice, unfortunately it is also the main vehicle\nof cross infections<\/strong> between staff and patients, both exposed to pathogenic\nmicro-organisms carried by blood, oral and respiratory secretions and\ncontaminated equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous studies have shown that the dental\nunit can be colonised by pathogenic micro-organisms in the form of fungi,\nbacteria or protozoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the way that infections are\ntransmitted, the critical points in dentistry are many, and stem from the\nmultitude of microbial agents, the variety of possible infection routes, the\ntype of instruments used, the rapid turnover of patients, and the invasive\nnature of the procedures performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infections can be transmitted in four\ndifferent ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Blood <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 by blood-borne diseases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Air<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>\u2013 by diseases spread by the micro-organisms in airborne human secretions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Water <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 via water-borne micro-organisms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Contact <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 via direct transmission between the host and the infection.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The water circuit of the dental unit, which\nsupplies water to the instruments and removes waste substances, constitutes a\nvehicle for the transmission of infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is due to the presence of biofilm, <\/em>a\ncomplex aggregation of micro-organisms which develops inside the water mains\nsystems: communities of bacteria <\/strong>from the water flow supplying\nthe unit adhere firmly to the layer of limescale,<\/strong> and proliferate due to\nvarious factors which promote their growth and adhesion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The suction circuit is also an ideal\nbreeding ground for pathogenic micro-organisms, due to the removal of solid and\nliquid compounds during dental procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This makes the scrupulous observation of\nthe dental unit cleaning protocol – disinfection of the suction system<\/strong>\nin particular – a vital part of dental practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Disinfection of the dental unit: all the steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    To drastically reduce the accumulation and\nproliferation of bacteria and other pathogenic micro-organisms, a dental unit\nmaintenance protocol should be followed every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the start of the day:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Flushing of the suction lines with high-level disinfectant for two minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Flushing of each instrument with water for no less than 2 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Between patients:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Cleaning of the surfaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Detersion and decontamination of the surfaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Flushing of each instrument with water for 20-30 seconds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Flushing of the suction cannulas with high-level disinfectant for two minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        At the end of the day:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Flushing of the suction lines with high-level disinfectant, leaving it to act overnight if possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Flushing of each instrument with water for at least 2 minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Cleaning of spittoon outlet filter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Removal and cleaning of the suction system filter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          How to choose dental unit disinfectants <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          For effective cleaning of the dental unit on a daily basis, it is important to choose disinfectants with appropriate action times – whether rapid or more prolonged – based on the specific requirements of the equipment involved. It is advisable to use mild products with a prolonged action<\/strong> effective against organic material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n

          Article by Stefania Barbieri<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The dental unit is where all medical procedures are performed on the patient. As well as being an indispensable component of the dental practice, unfortunately it is also the main vehicle of cross infections between staff and patients, both exposed to pathogenic micro-organisms carried by blood, oral and respiratory secretions and contaminated equipment. Numerous studies have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[133],"class_list":["post-1076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hygiene-en","tag-disinfection"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}