Cliff's Notes

Dental Sterilizers

Cliff’s Notes For October 27, 2008 …..E-Blast…..
Cliff Marsh, Henry Schein ……
Cell: 201-321-7494……Fax: 201-262-2210…..
cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

Sterilizers……Never A Concern Until They Fail…………………………

Over the last several weeks, I have been experiencing an unusual amount of sterilizer failures. When a sterilizer goes down, most offices begin to panic, so let’s look at some problems and solutions. The most common problem is water or steam leaking from the door. This is usually nothing more than a defective door gasket. In some cases, as a temporary solution, you can try reversing the gasket. This may give you a day or 2 of breathing room so you can order and install a new one. You do not need a service technician to do this. If the unit is not leaking but turns on and can’t reach temperature or pressure, then a service technician is required, but we will get into repairs later. Sterilizers use distilled water (NOT SPRING WATER). Distilled water will not leave any sentiment build-up inside the unit and will be kinder to your instruments. Remember, distilled water is for autoclaves and ultrasonic cleaners only, not clean water systems on delivery units. Although you are working with distilled water it does not mean that the entire system does not need cleaning and maintenance. Use the cleaner recommended by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Most full size sterilizers recycle their water. After the pressure and steam are vented the remaining moisture condensates at the bottom of the chamber. The water is then sucked back into the water reservoir. The returning water, although sterile, carries dirt particles back into the system. That is why they need cleaning. Lower quality autoclave pouches will leave traces of ink particles due to the low quality ink that is used in their printing. I can’t tell you how many units I have seen with “blue sludge” in the reservoir & chamber. Saving pennies on a sterilization pouch may end up costing you big $$ on repairs and down time. Sterilizer repairs can be very expensive. If the unit needs to be taken out of the office, expect an ISO 9000 repair estimate of over $1,000.00. An ISO 9000 Certified Repair Facility will guaranty that when the unit is returned it will meet all original manufacturer specifications. A non certified facility will only repair the parts that are not working and only guaranty the work they did. If something else go wrong with the unit, there would be another charge. An ISO 9000 Certified repair would guaranty the entire machine regardless of what malfunctions during the warranty period. As for the difference between Automatic & Manual Systems, that’s another discussion. Please have a safe and wonderful day. As always, I am available if you should have any questions or concerns (201-321-7494). Cliff’s Notes is a client exclusive service. If you do not wish to receive these e-mails please reply to cliff.marsh@henryschein.com ” Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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October 16, 2009 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | 1