Cliff's Notes

“Face Masks, What You Don’t Know!” & “A Review of GC’s Fuji Temp LT”

Cliff’s Notes for June 26, 2011

….. 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

 

“If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”

James Goldsmith

  

In This Week’s Issue

• Infection Control Part #5 – Gloves & Masks, What You Don’t Know!
• Product Review:  GC Fuji Temp LT – Glass Ionomer Provisional and Implant Cement

Gloves & Masks, What You Don’t Know!……………………………………….

Gloves and face masks are not all alike and yes, it is an O.S.H.A. concern. This week we’ll review face masks. Different brands have different filtration levels and many will lose their effectiveness after 20 minutes. All brands are ineffective after 1 hour. Once again, we’re talking about the bringing bugs home.

Too many times we are consumed with “price” and neglect quality. There is an old saying, “you get what you pay for” and it holds true 99% of the time. We spend hours researching composites, fluorides, cements, etc. But, how much time do we spend understanding the products designed to protect us and our staff from the patient and patients from each other? The answer is, not often or never. The U.S. courts tell us that being ignorant of the law is no excuse and not understanding “cross contamination control” opens an O.S.H.A. liability and weakens your defensive business strategy. When was the last time you trained your staff in infection control protocol or reviewed the correct use of barrier protection? New pandemics are starting every day and you don’t want to be first in line. 

For more detailed information on O.S.H.A. liability and compliance, log onto http://www.healthcomplianceteam.com. For more information on employee liability log onto http://www.employeerelationssolutions.com. 

It is true that most face masks are produced in China; however, they are manufactured to certain specifications and are required to pass multiple FDA tests to be classified for “medical use”. 

“Medical use” is the key term. The mask you wear to cut the grass won’t do anything chairside. I always said that there were 3 places in a dental office where price should not be an object, your handpiece, overhead light and stool. Now I am adding protective barrier equipment to the list. 

Prominent safety organizations in the United States, suggest healthcare workers wear facemasks when there is the possibility of coming into contact with blood or body fluids. Examples of this are shown by the follow organizations: 

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) – “Personal protective equipment will be considered ‘appropriate’ only if it does not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through to or reach the employee’s work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes, under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time which protective equipment will be used”1

CDC (Centers for Disease Control) – “The mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes are susceptible portals of entry for infectious agents, as can be other skin surfaces if skin integrity is compromised (e.g., by acne, dermatitis). Therefore, use of PPE to protect these body sites is an important component of Standard Precautions”2

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) – “Proper eye and face protection is needed whenever hazardous drugs may splash.

5:37 Add to Added to queue

The Difference Between Respirators and Surgical Masks

By O.S.H.A. & U.S. The Department of Labor. 

FDA Standards:

The ASTM F2100-07, Standard Specification for Performance of Materials Used in medical Face Masks6, was developed to test the qualities of facemasks in the market. It is the most current and only standard specification available for specifically testing the performance of medical facemasks. With the help of the five tests below, facemask are then put into three categories of low barrier, medium barrier and high barrier.

1. Fluid Penetration Resistance

• Technical Talk: This test is performed with the ASTM F1862, Test Method for Resistance of Medical Face Masks to Penetration by Synthetic Blood (Horizontal Projection of Fixed Volume at a Known Velocity)

• What does this mean?: This test shows results as a pass or fail at three velocities, corresponding to the speed of blood exiting a puncture, at human blood pressures of 80, 120 and 160 mm Hg.

2. Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE)

• Technical Talk: Test is performed with the ASTM F2101, Test Method for Evaluating the Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) of Medical Face Masks Materials, Using a Biological Aerosol of Staphylococcus aureus.

• What does this mean?: This test measures the effectiveness of a material to filter bacteria. This is shown as a percentage of a quantity that does not pass through a material.

3. Sub-micron Particulate Filtration Efficiency (PFE)

• Technical Talk: This test is performed with the ASTM F2299, Standard Test Method for Determining the Initial Efficiency of Materials Used in Medical Face Masks to Penetration by Particulates Using Latex Spheres.

• What does this mean?: PFE is the ability of a material to filter aerosol particles. This is shown as a percentage of a quantity that does not pass through the material.

4. Differential Pressure (Delta P)

• Technical Talk: This is measured according to the US Department of Defense Military Standard, MIL-M36954C, Military Specification: Mask, Surgical, Disposable.

• What does this mean?: This test measures a material’s resistance to air flow. This can also be known as the “breathability.” This is shown as mm of H₂0, where the higher the number, the lesser the breathability.

5. Flammability

• Technical Talk: This is measured according to the US Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR Part 1610, Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles.

• What does this mean?: This test is used to determine what materials demonstrate a higher than normal flammability than other materials. Materials label as Class 1 are considered to have “normal flammability.”

Requirements	Low Barrier	Moderate Barrier	High Barrier
Fluid Penetration Resistance to blood (mm HG) (ASTM F1862)	80	120	160
Bacterial Filtration efficiency — BFE	≥ 95	≥ 98	≥ 98
Sub-micron particulate filtration — PFE	Not required	≥ 98	≥ 98
Differential Pressure (Delta P)	< 4.0	< 5.0	< 5.0
Flammability	Class 1	Class 1	Class 1

Crosstex & Tidi Products have great website tutorial on face masks:

http://www.crosstex.com/tutorials.asp

http://www.tidiproducts.com/tidi_mask_education.pdf

VELscope……………………………………………………………………

Be careful! Everyone who received an in-office demonstration of the VELscope System ordered it! At $15.00/exam, if you do 2/day, and IRS Sec. #179, the VELscope pays for its self in 90 days. As an added benefit, you can save someone’s life.

www.velscope.com

Call Cliff for details 201-321-7494 or e-mail cliff.marsh@henryschein.com. 

  

Product Review – GC Fuji Temp LT……………………………………..

GC Fuji TEMP LT™ The First Glass Ionomer Provisional and Implant Cement.

GC Fuji TEMP LT is the first glass ionomer provisional luting cement that provides versatility, reliability, durability and ease of use. GC Fuji TEMP LT offers the benefits of glass ionomer technology, with significantly greater fluoride release and unsurpassed protection.

Features and Benefits:

• Great handling with no runny consistency in a moist environment.
• Ability to continually recharge fluoride (highest F releasing GC product).
• Biocompatible material that is non-irritating to the tooth structure or soft tissue making it an ideal choice to help prevent peri-implantitis.
• Excellent insulation (helps prevent thermal sensitivity).
• Ionic bonding to tooth structures and metals to optimize marginal seal.
• Tooth like coefficient of thermal expansion to maintain marginal seal.
• Easy to clean-up with no adverse residual effect on final cementation which is common with eugenol cements.
• Low film thickness (6 microns).
• High bond strength and mechanical properties for cases requiring higher retention.
• Radiopacity to make overhangs visible (290%)

GC Fuji TEMP LT – GC America

GC Fuji TEMP LT is the first glass ionomer provisional luting cement that provides versatility, reliability, durability and ease of use.

http://www.gcamerica.com/products/operatory/Fuji_TempLT/

 

Sunday, June 26, 2011 – ………………………………………………………………..

Well, it is finally summer! Get outside and recharge your batteries. Today is a “free fishing day” in New York and Bear Mountain is great this time of year. If you go, don’t miss the ZOO!  Enjoy your family and the day.

Cliff Marsh

Henry Schein Dental

P.O. Box 663 / 45 Rt. 46 East, Suite 605

Pine Brook, NJ 07058

Cell: 201-321-7494

Fax: 201-262-2210

cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

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June 26, 2011 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized