Running a successful dental office can be draining and tough at times, especially when the office depends on the dental equipment to keep things ticking over smoothly. Unplanned downtime due to breakdowns is a surefire way to make your life a living hell, so this is why maintaining your dental equipment is essential. Dental Depot has put together this definitive checklist for maintaining your dental equipment to ensure crucial tasks aren’t missed or performed late. Performing regular and preventative maintenance is essential to keep the cogs turning smoothly (figuratively… and maybe literally depending on what sort of equipment you have).
Dental equipment maintenance checklist:
This list is easy to follow and consists of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks to help keep you on top of your maintenance schedule:
Daily
- Check functionality of the chair. Ensure there are no strange noises, air or water leaks. Report any minor faults before they become more significant and more critical faults
- If not using a chemical agent for removing Biofilm (i.e. ICX) in your handpiece line, flush the handpiece lines and air/water lines until they are dry
- Clean, lubricate and sterilise handpieces.
- Disinfect workstation after each patient. Never spray the dental equipment directly, always spray the cloth and then wipe the equipment.
- At the end of each day run a suction cleaner through saliva ejector and HVE tubing. Ensuring that the cleaning liquid is pulsed through the lines, (i.e. pull the (SE & HVE) in and out of the cleaning solution until it is empty.
- Clean filters on your dental equipment
- Drain and wipe ultrasonic cleaner after each day
- Run a vacuum test on your steriliser first up in the morning while the steriliser is cold. (if your steriliser has a built-in air leakage detector, this test only needs to be done weekly)
- Run a test cycle with a Process Challenge Device(PCD) after the vacuum test
Weekly
- Check, lubricate or replace O-rings on the dental chair and handpieces if necessary
- Clean the door seal and surface that the door seal sits against on your steriliser steriliser
- Clean and lubricate the filters on the suction unit.
- Listen for unusual noises in your plant room.
Monthly
- Check, clean and replace plaster trap when necessary
- Clean model trimming unit
- Check nitrous systems and emergency oxygen units to ensure they’re operating correctly
- Clean areas which are visible from a patient’s perspective
Annual
- Change steriliser door gaskets and cassette seals
- Book a performance Qualification of you steriliser This is required every 12 months
- Get your Dental chairs and other equipment serviced by your service provider.
- Have your fire extinguishers, smoke alarms as well as emergency lighting systems checked by a qualified contractor Book a compliance test f of x-ray equipment to ensure it is within operating standards. This is required every three years in Queensland.
- Review workplace, health and safety guidelines and conduct necessary training programs (fire drill etc.)
It’s a great idea to keep spares parts on hand when performing these repairs and maintenance activities as you never know when you might require something for last-minute dental equipment servicing. Things that should be included in this spare parts kit are:
- Lubricant, cleaner,
- Intake filter, line cleaner, traps and canisters for your vacuum
- Spare o-rings and gaskets for your current dental equipment lineup
Dental Depot stocks a wide range of basic and advanced self-maintenance items to make it easier to perform simple dental equipment repairs. If your problems are much larger, don’t fear or fret as Dental Depot are easily able to help out. Contact us now if you have equipment that requires testing, servicing or need to order something which you haven’t been able to find elsewhere. We pride ourselves on going above and beyond for our clients!
