Even with the right tools for your veterinary dental cases, it’s essential to correctly maintain them so they’re available when you need them most.
Missed Part 1? Click HERE to read: Essential Tips to Improve Your Efficiency in Veterinary Dentistry – Part 1: Review Your Instruments.
Reliability and longevity are the two things you want from your dental equipment.
Regular maintenance is not just a task. It’s a responsibility. It’s essential to have all of your dental equipment working when you need it most to avoid costly downtime waiting for replacement parts or repairs. These tips will help ensure your equipment is in top condition so you can provide the very best treatment for your patients.
Maintenance & Service Regimes
‘Dental Month’ has rolled around once more, and this is the ideal prompt to check that all of your equipment has undergone proper maintenance and service. This could include checking for worn parts, cleaning and disinfecting, and updating software. Your equipment manufacturer will provide you with the correct information to properly care for and maintain your equipment.
Tip 1: Routine Dental Unit and Compressor Care & Maintenance
Any machine with moving parts requires ongoing maintenance to ensure its best performance; your dental unit is no exception. Prioritise maintenance regimes according to your manufacturer’s recommendations for daily, monthly, and annual service.
Handpieces should be regularly oiled to protect the motor and turbine, and a spare handpiece should be on hand to eliminate downtime when a damaged handpiece needs to be sent away for repair.
To ensure the safety of your team, routine antibacterial cleaning, flushing of all waterlines, and filter replacement are must-do tasks. Biofilm is made up of odour-causing bacterial colonies that adhere to the internal plumbing walls in dental units. If not properly treated, all waterlines and valves become coated with this bacteria that grows exponentially at room temperature and contaminates the water. The result is unpleasant odours and unsafe water.
Tip 2: Ultrasonic Scalers & Other Ancillary Equipment
Using worn scaler tips results in inefficient or ineffective cleaning of your patient’s tooth surface. Scaler tips require regular checking for wear and should be replaced on average every 4-6 months.
Troubleshoot any reduction in performance from tip wear, O-ring or filter failure, or loose-fitting parts, and generally check all lines and connections to and from the system. A loose plug or connection will often create problems.
Tip 3: Dental Radiographic Equipment
Include proper care for your dental X-ray equipment in your regular care & maintenance routine, and you should refer to your State legislation about compliance requirements.
Contact your supplier to check for software updates to keep your system up to date and current and ensure that you’re well-supported. Regular updates can improve the performance and safety of your equipment. Review all CR Plates or DR Sensors for wear and tear or damage and replace them as needed.
Inspect for artefacts caused by contamination and clean appropriately, including testing the integrity of your radiographic personal protection equipment. Remember that your equipment has a certain life expectancy, and refer to your supplier for advice.
All staff should have access to and have read the manuals for the equipment in your practice, particularly the Maintenance Recommended and the Troubleshooting Guide – don’t wait until it’s too late!
Downtime due to equipment failure is not just a financial loss but can also impact your practice’s efficiency and patient care. It’s costly in terms of lost revenue and profit, the cost of equipment repair, and possibly reputational damage.
The manufacturer of your equipment is not just a supplier. They are your guide to providing the best advice on the proper care and maintenance of your equipment. Rely on their expertise to keep your practice running smoothly.
Improve the operation of your dental equipment
Introducing the NEW iM3 Straw
The treatment you trust, the convenience you count on. The Straw is simple to use and compatible with any size of dental bottle. Installation only takes a minute with its new Luer Lock fitting. Use only with distilled water.
The Straw provides built-in shock treatment for your dental unit and year-round protection, as its internal pre-treatment reduces impurities in your unit’s water.
It provides reliable year-round disinfection and is easy to use, reducing human error. It is safe, non-toxic, and non-corrosive, meets BMP compliance, and does not contain oxidizers such as iodine or chlorine, which have been shown to release mercury into dental wastewater.
The Straw is also safe to use in restorative procedures as it does not adversely affect composite bond strength.
Visit the iM3 website to find out more
The next instalment in this series will focus on improving efficiency in your dental practice and workflow within your dental workspace.
