If you are a medical or dental practitioner who owns a clinic, then you know the importance of sterilisation. This process is key to preventing the spread of infection and keeping both your patients and employees safe. This blog post will discuss moist heat sterilisation and its importance in the workplace.
Dental sterilisation
Sterilization means that all bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores are totally destroyed. In the dental setting, the dentist uses mouth mirrors, tweezers, and many other instruments. These pieces of equipment must be sterile at the time of use, and to do that, we have a complex and effective system in place. We use a steriliser or, more accurately, an autoclave to do this. All items removed from the autoclave after the cycle finishes have become sterile and ready for patient use.
Moist or Heat?
Moist heat steam and dry heat sterilisation are similar in the fact that both modalities use the transfer of heat energy as the sterilising agent. The main difference between the two forms of sterilisation is how heat is transferred from the environment to the product needing sterilisation. For dry heat sterilisation, heated air is in direct contact with the load items, and the transfer of its thermal energy onto the load items is what results in sterilising conditions. Dry heat induces microbial lethality primarily through the oxidation of organic compounds.
How Moist Heat Sterilisation Works
Moist heat sterilization is a process that uses water or steam under pressure to kill bacteria. It is an effective way to sterilise medical or dental equipment and other objects that come into contact with patients. Sterilization by moist heat is the most common medical or dental device and product sterilisation method.
The steam sterilisation principle is exposing each instrument to the defined temperature and pressure for the required time. Pressure built up inside the vacuum chambers serves as a means to obtain high temperatures. Specific temperatures have to be obtained to ensure microbicidal activity and effectively sterilise the instruments. The two common steam sterilising temperatures are 121°C and 132°C. These temperatures must be maintained for a minimal time to kill all microorganisms. With MELAG, specialised equipment called autoclaves is used for effective steam sterilisation. These autoclaves are very effective in sanitising equipment and parts of equipment that are hard to reach. Steam sterilisation is not only microbicidal but can also penetrate fabrics and sterilise porous and hollow instruments as well.
The Importance of Using a Moist Heat Steriliser in your Dental Office
Sterilisation is an essential step in reprocessing reusable dental instruments contaminated by biological fluids such as blood and saliva. Sterilisation aims at breaking the chain of potential cross-infection between patients by killing all microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and spores.
Steam steriliser working under pressure using moist heat is recommended as the most efficient and safe method of sterilising dental instruments.
How to choose the right dental moist heat steriliser for your needs
Dental sterilisers, or autoclaves, are an absolute must in a dental clinic. Autoclaves are one of the most used pieces of equipment in a dental clinic. There are many things to consider when shopping for autoclaves for your clinic.
Brand reputation
Remember that this will be one of your most significant investments for your clinic, so be sure to use a reputable company that offers an extensive product warranty. Along with that, training and excellent customer service should be a priority so that your team members will feel supported and be able to use the equipment to the best of their ability.
Your clinic needs
Another key factor to consider when shopping for sterilisation equipment is the number of items you will need to sterilise daily. If you have chosen a company with a knowledgeable sales team, they can recommend an appropriate size of autoclave for your needs.
Quality and Ease of Use
The ease of operation and dependability should also be considered when shopping for new sterilisation equipment. New equipment does not have to be complicated, and your team members should not have to ‘babysit’ the equipment while it is doing its job. Your staff should be able to have equipment sterilised and ready to use easily.
Advanced Technology
In recent years, technology has advanced the system of monitoring sterilisation in the dental field. Autoclaves with the latest technology help eliminate human error and decrease the time it takes to sterilise equipment and record results.
Six General Questions to Choose the Right Autoclave
If you’re looking to buy a new autoclave for your dental practice, what questions should you consider as part of this important purchase?
- Is the autoclave manufacturer a well-known provider with many years of success and experience in the field?
- Will the distributor you deal with give you all the options for buying an autoclave or just push the one he wants to sell on you?
- Does the manufacturer offer the type of autoclave and features you need?
- Does the manufacturer offer different autoclave sizes to cater to the volume of items that need to be sterilised?
- Does the autoclave deliver the best reliability for your investment?
- Is the autoclave you are considering purchasing easy to operate?
With Melag Autoclave, all those questions are answered with a reassuring and confident ‘Yes!’ In every dental office, you can expect only high–quality instruments that care for a person’s teeth. If you’re an expert in the oral healthcare industry or a patient that wants the best treatment, only look for a trusted dental autoclave machine.
MELAG offers a wide range of autoclaves for every use. You can choose from premium and pro-class autoclaves that eliminate medical and dental decontamination. You may contact us for our wide range of products and items to help assist your dental practice.
References:
https://medicom.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-sterilization-product-for-your-dental-office/
https://diatechusa.com/blog/moist-heat-vs-dry-heat-sterilization/
https://tuttnauer.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-autoclave-for-your-dental-clinic
