Sterilisation

All reusable instruments are cleaned and then sterilised in accordance with current Australian Standards and short cuts are never taken. Our bench top and associated equipment are TGA approved and are tested, calibrated and maintained by fully qualified service personnel on a regular base. Each sterilisation cycle is monitored to ensure that sterilisation parameters are met. All critical instruments are individually wrapped or packed (including dental handpieces), maintaining sterility until the package is opened for use on a specific patient. No item is released for use until it has been checked for the integrity of its outer wrap, seals, labelling, and colour of the chemical indicator.

The system is identical to those used in many hospital sterilisation departments and has been modified and adapted for use in dental practices. This means all packaged items are bar-coded before sterilisation. The items are scanned in and out of each steriliser and eventually scanned into a patient’s individual file.

Our point of difference is: we can track where an item is at any given point, trace where and when it was used and which patient/s it was used on within any particular time frame. Whilst this is not important on a day-to-day basis, in the extremely unlikely event of a sterilisation failure and if infection is suspected, we are able to identify whom an instrument was used on preceding the failure and whom it was used on after. This ensures all patients receive appropriate follow up if required.