surgery questions

The beauty of using cassettes is that the whole thing goes in the washer disinfector. You dont have to remove the instruments from it. They are designed so that the water and detergent can get through to the instruments. Sometimes if the stuff is heavily soiled we do have to take the instruments out and manually clean but that is hardly ever.

Yes alpron we mix with distilled water.

You still will have to use the TST strips even if the autoclave has a printer. You should have a log book to record the first cycle with the TST strip. Isopharm sell log books. I havent used one of theirs but I imagine they would be ok. We get our washer disinfector strips from Eschmann. Yes they are expensive but its what is needed...

Helix tests are only compatible with Type B autoclaves (vacuum) and as you use TST strips your autoclave must be non-vacuum.

1. We use a metal tray with a liner
2. We dont pouch the instrument if they are going to be used in that session. You can store instruments unpouched as long as they are covered and in drawers/cupboards (all instruments that have not been used by the end of the session are reprocessed).
3. We use Alpron too
4. We don't use TST strips. Out autoclave print out show the parameters have been achieved and whether the cycle has passed.
5. Our Helix test strips are stuck into the autoclave log book and then stored away. We have about 5 yrs worth of log books but we have space to store them.

1. We put our instruments in a metal tray with a tray insert, the instruments are pouched and the dentist opes them in front of the patient.
2. All instruments are pouched even if used immediately.
3. Water bottle we use Alpron too. (when we do our dipslide tests they are always clear)
4. Kavo autoclave tst strips, they are basic but do the job thats required. Our autoclave prints off the cycle too
5. All our processed strips are stuck on the back of the autocalve daily check sheet along with the first autoclave print of the day. All details are recorded on this sheet and stored in a folder. They have to be kept for 3 years. (Ours are archived for longer, we are lucky to have the space but they are checked and looked into on cqc visits. We have the same for the washer disinfector too)

Thank you for replying jmoss!
1. so do you process your cassettes separately to the instruments? can you not sterilise the instruments in the cassettes? or do you have more instrument bundles than cassettes?
2. i think i will continue bagging all instruments then, i just cant help but feel bad for the environment with all this waste!
3. thanks for suggesting alpron, i will look into that. do you mix it with distilled water?
4. we have a printer attached to our autoclave which checks the temperatures but we are also using tst strips which i am beginning to feel there is no point in doing. we have wash check strips for the washer but they are expensive - which brand do you use?
5. i think i will invest in a large container and find a home for it and start storing all our tests in there - i will look into the helix test and see if it is compatible with our autoclave.

1. We use instrument cassettes. All of our instruments are bagged and put through a vacuum cycle so the cassette is on the side in a bag until opened by the dentist. They then keep the cassette on the bag for the exam/treatment.
2.We bag every single instrument and always run a vacuum cycle. Even for instruments we know are going to be used immediately. We find its easier to keep tabs on the expiry then.
3.For our water bottle we use Alpron.
4.We use a helix test device as we use a Eschmann SES3000B vaccum&non-vacuum autoclave. We also have a cycle logger. For our old autoclave we used to use the Unodent TST strips. I think they will all be basic as it is just a basic test. Are you recording all of our cycles?
5.We keep all of our protein residue tests, helix test strips (we even have old TST strips) for 3 years. We store the protein residue tests and the old TST strips in an old SDI cement container. The helix test strips and essential wash clean indicator strips (for our washer disinfector) are stuck into the appropriate log books.

Hi, I'm the Head nurse in a private practice so its now my responsibility to make sure we are up to scratch... we are doing our best to keep to best standards: central sterilising unit, washer disinfector, bagging etc and are fine with all of that part even though its so time consuming! my questions are more specific though as i find the guides quite vague -

1) what do you guys put the instruments on when in use by the dentist? at the moment we have plastic trays that are autoclaveable, is this ok?
2) do you bag sterile instruments even though they are going to be used straight away? (bear in mind i'm central so all i have to do is walk straight through a door into the surgery - no corridors)
3) what exact solution do you use in the water bottles for hygiene appointments? we use 5% sterilox topped with distilled water but its a little expensive, is there anything better?
4) which test strips are you using to check the success of autoclave cycles as the TST strips we are using seem a bit basic for my liking
5) where do you store all your processed strips and how long to you keep these for before you can throw? at the moment we keep for a year as we have little storage for lots of paperwork, should i keep for longer?

Sure i have more questions but this is all for now!
Thanks!