Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.
Why You Should Be Using an Enzymatic Cleaner?
Dentistry is an increasingly “target-driven” profession and many practices (particularly those fulfilling an NHS contract) are under pressure to maintain a high throughput of patients. This makes the speed and effectiveness of instrument reprocessing even more important, not only in terms of compliance, but also from a business efficiency point of view.
If It Isn’t Clean It Can't Be Sterile!
If instruments are insufficiently cleaned they cannot be sterilised effectively, even after a cycle in an autoclave, so your choice of cleaning product is crucial. This is where enzymatic detergents come into their own. They are increasingly popular due to their efficient and effective cleaning action, which is in contrast to other, often harsher chemical alternatives.
Kinder to Your Instruments and the Environment
Historically, chemicals that have the ability to break down the type of contamination found on dental instruments, such as dried blood and saliva, have been formulated using less environmentally friendly constituents.
However, as advances in cleaning technology have emerged, practices have started to question whether the possible detriment to both users and equipment, combined with a negative environmental impact, makes them the most suitable cleaning substances.
The development of multiple enzymes (amongst other ingredients) in detergents has effectively reduced the need for more aggressive chemical ingredients and has resulted in a number of benefits. Better user safety, a reduction in the environmental impact and wider material compatibility all create an improved cleaning solution for dental practices.
What Are Enzymes?
The Natural Alternative
Enzymes are naturally occurring proteins and are responsible for many essential biochemical reactions in microorganisms, plants, animals and humans and as such are crucial to life processes.
Enzymes catalyse specific reactions, which means they speed up reactions, while at the same time remaining themselves unchanged. One such reaction results in the breakdown of the proteins in blood that can be left on dental instruments. The presence of enzymes in a detergent enables cleaning to take place at lower temperatures, at neutral pH and reduces the need for aggressive chemical breakdown of the soil. This makes enzyme cleaners ideal for use in both manual and ultrasonic cleaning processes.
Enzymes are selective in the reactions they carry out and will only work on a material if it is present. This selectivity not only provides efficient and effective cleaning but has also enabled the formulation of cleaning solutions that have excellent material compatibility – a crucial benefit in dental surgeries where many different types of surfaces and materials are found.
Enzymes are also fully biodegradable and their regular use enhances practices’ green credentials, by using the power of nature to create the effective cleaning agents required in a healthcare setting.
Enzyme types that might be found in dental instrument cleaning products include:
- Protease, which breaks down proteins
- Lipase, which breaks down lipids (fats)
- Amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates and starch
Let’s go green!
We need efficiency and effectiveness from our decontamination processes, whilst keeping one eye on how we can contribute to a safer, more sustainable environment for all. The use of enzyme-based cleaning products in conjunction with pre-cleaning treatments (such as immediate reprocessing or the use of an instrument foam to prevent contaminants from drying out), forms part of a collective movement that creates a highly effective instrument reprocessing regime.
Share
You May Also Like
Infection Control Best Sellers
Essential cleaning and disinfectant products to keep your practice clean, safe and compliant.
Dentisan Advantage
The Dentisan Advantage range brings together the perfect combination of Dentisan’s core products and great value prices.
Disinfect Surfaces Efficiently
Learn how to get the most our of your surface wipes and what products could make the job easier
Dentisan Clean Water Club
Dentisan Clean Water Club is a new way to monitor and maintain dental unit waterlines using an online portal, dip slide testing and product subscriptions.
Schulke To Dentisan
Switching to Dentisan infection control products from Schulke could save your practice significant money with zero drop-off in product quality.
5 Simple Infection Control Ideas
Save time, money and effort with these five quick and easy ideas for your dental practice's infection control.
Biofilms in Water Lines
It's important that the whole dental team know about biofilms in dental unit water lines and the best methods for removal and prevention.
Surface Disinfection in Practice
Routine cleaning and disinfection of surfaces plays a key role in the infection control of any dental practice
Alpron an Essential Overview
Alpron is a specially formulated mild disinfectant for routine decontamination and maintenance of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs).
Importance of Good Hand Hygiene
Protect your dental team and patients during the winter months with an effective hand hygiene protocol and the right hand care products.
