Before being allowed to handle dental instruments Dental Nurses will need their HEP B vaccine. This vaccine gives protection against the hepatitis B virus, which is a major cause of serious liver disease, including scarring of the liver and liver cancer. And a booster is usually needed every 5 years.
The Dental Instrument sterilisation process is the procedure of eliminating or killing all forms of micro-organisms on dental instruments. Dental Nurses Role:
- Bringing instruments into the sterilisation area and wearing protective gear
- Pre-cleaning the instruments with disinfectant, ultrasound or a washer-disinfector
- Getting instruments ready for the steriliser by wrapping or packaging them
- Placing into the sterilizer, such as steam autoclave, dry heat oven, or cold/chemical sterilizer
- Using heavy duty gloves, remove the instruments from the steriliser and bag or store.
There are different methods of sterilisation but the most used in the dental practice is the heat method by way of Autoclave.
After visibly cleaning the intruments they will then be placed in a washer-disinfector. A washer disinfector is used for the automated cleaning and disinfection of instruments within practices. The instrument disinfection is accomplished with the use of hot water over a set cycle in the washer-disinfector
Washer disinfector cycle last est. 35-50mins
After the washer disinfector the instruments will be inspected under a magnifying light to ensure all debris has been removed
Then they are bagged into sterilisation pouches and placed into the autoclave or for some autoclaves they are placed in first and bagged afterwards.
The length of an autoclave cycle varies depending on several factors, including the size and type of load, and the cycle chosen. In general, each cycle will take between 60 to 90 minutes, with the sterilisation duration typically around 30 minutes reaching a temperature of 134 degrees centigrade to ensure instruments have been sufficiently sterilised.
This is a general overview of the process of instrument cleaning and sterilisation to ensure a high standard and to meet CQC/RQIA/HTM01-05 rules and regulations. During your Online Dental Nurse Course you will learn this in detail including the maintenance checks which will need done daily/week and monthly, draining the machines, refilling them with distilled water and so on. To read more about decontamination in dental practice you should have a look at the department of health publication – HTM 01-05 Decontamination in primary care dental practices. This is where you will find everything the dental nurse in training needs to know about decontamination.