Surface cleaning

As the dental profession is only too well aware, cleaning and disinfection processes within the dental practice are of paramount concern, not only in relation to Care Quality Commission and HTM01-05 compliance, but also with regard to staff and patient well-being – which the compliance guidelines are there to ensure and protect.

Protein contamination in the dental surgery is an obvious area for serious concern, since residual soiling on surfaces can harbour pathogens. Blood has the potential to carry and transmit viruses such as HIV, HBV and HCV. The risk of transmission of communicable blood-borne viruses might be considered to come only from high risk areas such as accidental sharps injuries, but greater research and advances in the sphere of microbiology now provide evidence that many micro-organisms can survive on a variety of surfaces, making the danger of disease transmission from contaminated surgery surfaces or equipment a genuine threat to patients and staff. In addition, an increasingly mobile population including greatly increased economic migration, has resulted in a resurgence of diseases such as TB, which are associated with overcrowding and poor standards of general health.