All in one

The perfect cleaning and maintenance of dental handpieces represent a challenge even for experienced and skilled dental staff. The internal cleaning of handpieces is especially challenging because the design incorporates a series of very small lumens and gears. The cleaning of instruments is important in order to avoid cross-contamination, and as proper instrument maintenance carried out according to manufacturer's specification, this also plays an important part in ensuring longevity of the dental handpieces.

According to the HTM01-05, the cleaning and sterilising of handpieces must take place after every use. Doing this manually will place a heavy workload on the clinic staff, whereas the processes carried out with the aid of a semi- or fully-automated system, can optimise the workflow in the dental surgery.

HTM01-05 states that the use of manual cleaning “presents particular problems […] [because […] it is not possible to fully validate the process”. Additionally, the recommendation is to replace manual cleaning with automated cleaning where possible. According to HTM01-05 manual cleaning is only recommended to be carried out if advised by the manufacturer and if it lives up to the essential quality requirements. It is recommended to move towards the best practice. The recommendation is to carry the cleaning out automatically “[…] because it offers the best option for the control and reproducibility of cleaning”.