IF SURFACES COULD TALK
BY DAVID GIBSON , ESCHMANN MARKETING MANAGER – INFECTION CONTROL
David has over 12 years experience of infection control in dentistry and other medical sectors . His dedication to this area is second to none , prior to joining Eschmann ; David was Sales and Marketing Manager at Meditread , a healthcare equipment and supplies retailer , specialising in mail order and before that , Marketing Communications Manager for Prestige Medical .
W hen it comes to infectious diseases and dangerous pathogens , it makes one shudder to think that they could easily be spread in the dental practice . It is not outside the realms of possibility that Hepatitis B , Hepatitis C , seasonal flu , the Varicella-zoster virus , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenza , Neisseria meningitidis , Corynebacterium diphtheria , Bordetella pertussis and more could be found in your practice . Then there are multiresistant bacteria to contend with – the worst ones of which are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) and MCR-1 , a new strain of superbug .
If your surfaces could talk , what would they say ? Are they hiding any invisible , yet potentially dangerous horrors ? If you consider that the flu virus can survive on a surface for 48 hours and pathogens like the Hepatitis B virus can live for up to seven days , there is plenty of opportunity for infection control to get out of hand . To minimise the risk of this occurring and to put a stop to microorganisms flourishing on your environmental surfaces , you should ensure that all necessary areas are cleaned and disinfected between all patients or at the end of the day .
TREATMENT BETWEEN PATIENTS According to HTM 01-05 , areas and items of equipment that need to be decontaminated between each patient include : Work surfaces The dental chair Curing lamps Inspection lights and handles Hand controls Trolleys / delivery units Spittoons Aspirators X-ray units Taps Drainage points Splashbacks Sinks Doors and handles
DAILY AND WEEKLY TREATMENT Regulations also suggest that cupboard doors and floor surfaces should be attended to daily , while weekly routines should include window blinds , ventilation fittings , radiators , shelves in cupboards and walls – which , all in all , means a lot of work . Luckily , there are steps that you can take to streamline daily practices , while remaining compliant and ensuring a high standard of infection control .
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Firstly , you should ensure that all work surfaces are jointless and impervious ( as far as is reasonable ) and that the flooring in your surgery is impermeable too . Your choice of decontamination solution will also make a huge difference . As microbial contamination is much more likely to occur on a reusable cleaning cloth , which can in turn spread to hands , equipment , other surfaces and patients , pre-saturated single-use wipes are much more practical for use in the dental practice . That they are disposable and ready to use also makes them more convenient and cost and time effective – they also require less storage .
WIPES Wipes are available in different forms – some contain just a disinfectant , while others contain a combination of disinfectant and detergent . With guidance from the Royal College of Nursing stating that wipes without detergent have limited cleaning properties due to the friction created while cleaning , the type of wipe that you use must be taken into consideration as it will change the way in which you approach cleaning and disinfecting in your surgery .
ALCOHOL OR NON-ALCOHOL The other factor to decide upon is whether you will use wipes that are alcohol or non-alcohol based . Though research has shown that alcohol can bind blood and protein to stainless steel , there is evidence u
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