Cliff's Notes

Understanding Disinfectants, Spit Happens!

Cliff’s Notes for April 25, 2010
…..E-Blast…..

Cliff Marsh, Henry Schein ……Cell: 201-321-7494……Fax: 201-262-2210…..E-mail cliff.marsh@henryschein.com
http://www.cliffsnotesblog.wordpress.com

“Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething”
Mark Twain

In this week’s Issue
• Give Kids A Smile – 2011 – Plan Now!
• Do You Understand the Disinfectant Your Staff Uses?
• Spit Happens, So Don’t Spit on the Assistant!
• Newark Dental Study Club-Last Call!

Give Kids A Smile Friday, February 5, 2011……………………………………………………….

Each year on the first Friday in February, thousands of the nation’s dentists and their dental team members provide free oral health care services to children from low-income families across the country.
The ADA’s Give Kids A Smile® program enhances the oral health of large numbers of needy children. Give Kids A Smile activities also highlight for policy makers the ongoing challenges that low-income families face in finding dental care. Find a program today!
For more information log onto http://www.ada.org/3152.aspx

Do You Understand the Disinfectants Your Staff Use?……………………………………………………………………..
This article does not reference Gluteraldehyde. They are liquid sterilizing solutions and very dangerous to handle. They are designed to kill everything, think about that. I am not a fan of their use and do not recommend them for any situation. For more information, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Portions of this report were taken from the Free Library, http://www.thefreelibrary.com.
Critical and semi-critical patient care items must be heat-sterilized prior to use in patient care. Critical items include any objects that penetrate soft tissue or bone and have a high risk of transmitting disease. Dental hygiene instruments, burs and surgical instruments are some examples of critical items. Semi-critical items include objects that touch mucous membranes but do not penetrate and have a lower risk of disease transmission. Examples include mouth mirrors and handpieces. If semi-critical items are not heat-tolerant (plastic or rubber items), they can be immersed in a high-level disinfectant for three to 10 hours to achieve sterilization. Most patient care items today can be heat-sterilized on a special cycle for plastic and rubber objects. Non-critical items such as stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs touch only intact skin and have the lowest risk of transmitting disease. These items can be disinfected rather than sterilized. (2)

Environmental surfaces in the dental operatory have the lowest risk for transmitting disease and are considered non-critical. Although the risk for disease transmission from environmental surfaces is low, we still need to lower it as much as possible through the use of disinfectants or barriers, There are two types of environmental surfaces in the dental office: housekeeping surfaces and clinical contact surfaces. Housekeeping surfaces such as floors and walls are not routinely touched during patient care and can be cleaned rather than disinfected at the end of the day. Clinical contact surfaces such as light handles, switches and chair controls are routinely touched and easily contaminated. (2), (3) During the course of treatment, dental professionals adjust the chair and light handles, hold high- and low-speed suction devices, and touch other surfaces such as cabinetry with gloved, contaminated hands. Contaminated dental instruments can also touch various surfaces, thus indicating the need for surface disinfection or barriers.

There are two methods for handling clinical contact surfaces: use of disposable surface barriers or use of a surface disinfectant. Neither is superior; both are acceptable. A combination of both is the best in most situations, (3) Each dental office must decide which method to use based on the needs of that particular practice. There are pros and cons with each method.

Disposable surface barriers are impervious plastic covering materials that can be used for handling clinical contact surfaces in the operatory. Barriers are placed on clean surfaces at the beginning of the day and must cover the entire surface. (2) After patient care, it is necessary to carefully remove barriers and simply replace with a new one. There is no need to disinfect the area covered by the barrier unless it has been contaminated, (2) Use of barriers can decrease operatory turnaround time, and they are good choices for hard-to-clean surfaces. Barriers are one-time use items and must be replaced between patients. These items include chair covers, headrest covers, tri-syringe covers, light handle and light switch covers, and covers for high- and slow-speed suction tubing.
To view the CDC guidelines for infection control, log onto http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pubs.html

Examples of Surface Disinfectants
Classification Brand Name Manufacturer Level

Chlorine-based Chlorox Germicidal Harry J. Bosworth Low
Wipes[R] Company

Phenolics: Birex SE Biotrol Intermediate
Water-based Concentrate[R] International

DisCide Foaming Palmero Health Intermediate
Cleanser[R] Care

ProSpray[TM] Certol Intermediate
International

Coe Spray II[TM] GC America Intermediate
Alcohol-based

DisCide Spray[R] Palmero Health Intermediate
Care

Iodophors IodoFive Surface Certol Intermediate
Cleaner[TM] International

Quaternary CaviCide Spray[R] TotalCare/ Intermediate
Compounds Pinnacle/ Metrex
CaviCide Wipes[R]

MaxiSpray Plus Henry Schein Intermediate
MaxiWipes

DisCide ULTRA Palmero Health Intermediate
Spray[R] Care
DisCide ULTRA
Wipes[R]

GC Spray-Cide[TM] CG America Intermediate

Opti-Cide-3 Micro Scientific Intermediate
Spray[R] Industries

Sanitex Plus Crosstex Intermediate
Spray[R] International
Sanitex Plus
Wipes[R]

Sani-Cloth PDI International Intermediate
Wipes[R]

This is a partial listing of various surface disinfection products commonly used in the dental office. Chart adapted with permission from OSAP’s Surface Disinfection Chart-2009. OSAP does not endorse any product or company.

Spit Happens, So Don’t Spit on the Assistant!……………………………………………………………
How many times has a patient accidentally splashed your assistant or the floor when rinsing? Too many times! Modern cuspidor designs focus on minimal space and the patient needs to have good aim, and they always do. Well, it’s the little things that make our lives easier so you got to look at this product. It’s a cuspidor shield and it works.

No more spit on your scrubs. No more funk on the floor. This disposable plastic guard is adjustable to almost every cuspidor style. Reduce contamination risk factors while cutting costs and clean up time. For more information log onto http://www.d3dental-dsota.com/

DSOTA Cuspidor Splash Shield #1136588
30/package….$19.95

√ disposable

√ easily attaches and adjustable to most cuspidors

√ reduces clean up time

√ dental assistants and hygienists love it

Newark Dental Club…………………………………………………………….
On Wednesday, April 28, 2010 the Newark dental Club will be hosting an “Up-Date On Dental Technologies”. This is a full day presentation at the Maplewood Country Club. For more information, call Cliff @ 201-321-7494.

Sunday, April 25, 2010………………………………………………………….
Cliff’s notes is late today because yesterday I was drifting down the Delaware River. The Shad are on their way. Enjoy the week.

Cliff Marsh
Henry Schein Dental
P.O. Box 663, 45 Rt. 46 East, Suite 605
Pine Brook, NJ 07058
tel. 201-321-7494
fax.201-262-2210
e-mail. cliff.marsh@henryschein.com
http://www.cliffsnotesblog.wordpress.com

April 25, 2010 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized