Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

25Practice ManagementJune 4-10, 2012United Kingdom Edition About the author A proven manager of change and driver of dramatic business growth, Jacqui Goss is the manag- ing partner of Yes!RESULTS. By us- ing Yes!RESULTS dental practices see an increase in treatment plan take-up, improved patient satis- faction and more appointments resulting from general enquiries. Yes!RESULTS turns good practices into great practices. Managing Partner, Yes!RESULTS Honeydale Barn, Wall under Heywood, Shrop- shire SY6 7DU Tel: 08456 448066 Mob: 07795 562617 Email: jacqui@ yesresults.co.uk Website: www. yesresults.co.uk Twitter: @Yesre- sults www.facebook.com/Yesresults http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacquig- oss ‘There is an almost endless choice of corporate gifts as potential givea- ways. I favor things that are likely to be retained and preferably kept where they are easily visible’ here, it also prevents patients having to make awkward ref- erences such as: “The girl on reception said…” or “Can you lend me your pen, er, miss?” Now for some clinical staff name reinforcement. FoH staff should say something simi- lar to: “Right Mrs Goss, your appointment is with Doctor XXXXX in five minutes and her nurse, XXXXX, will collect you when she is ready.” They can actually be a bit more sophisticated. If the den- tist or hygienist in question is a recent addition to the prac- tice team how about: “Okay, Mrs Goss, your appointment is with XXXXX our new hygien- ist, whom I’m sure you’ll like.” If your practice offers, say, cosmetic treatments, what about: “Now Mrs Goss, your appointment is with our cos- metic dentist, Mrs XXXXX, and her nurse, XXXXX, will come for you in just a few minutes.” No harm in other patients overhearing that you have a cosmetic dentist! Of course, XXXXX the nurse should subsequently say some- thing like: “Hello Mrs Goss, I’m XXXXX and Mrs XXXXX is ready for you now.” Reminders Don’t let patients leave with- out something reminding them where they’ve been and who they’ve seen. Even with SMS and email reminders, the old appointment reminder card system is still valid and should be used. You may also consider a system whereby patients get rewarded for recommending a friend. If so, you’ll need to give them something they can pass on – similar to a business card, perhaps. There is an almost endless choice of corporate gifts as potential giveaways. I favour things that are likely to be re- tained and, preferably, kept where they are easily visible. My noticeboard in the kitch- en is so overcrowded that for this reason I suggest avoiding things that need to be pinned up. How about a fridge magnet- ic, a branded pen or a mouse mat instead? For ideas of givea- ways, I suggest you look at the British Dental Health Founda- tion shop (http://www.dental- health.org/shop). Anything you do give to patients must contain your practice name and contact details. And finally, a few words about social media. If you set up a practice Twitter, Face- book or other social media account, do make your posts ‘social’ (ie not just oral health orientated) and do keep it go- ing. A dormant account gives a poor impression – shut it down if you’re no longer going to use it. On LinkedIn, which is a showcase for your profes- sional identity and a network- ing opportunity, don’t be shy – include a profile image! You don’t really want people won- dering: Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Who are you? Who, who, who, who? DT temperature. The tempera- ture should then remain con- stant, within specified tem- perature band, throughout the whole sterilisation phase (plateau/holding time). In the post-treatment phase, either the steam or the re-vaporised condensed water are removed by vacuum to guarantee the goods to be dried rapidly. Virtually all air must be evacuated during pre-treat- ment (pre-vacuum phase) so that the saturated steam can affect the goods during the sterilising phase. If present, trapped air pockets in the goods prevent steam penetra- tion during sterilisation of po- rous material such as textiles and hollow items. Steam sterilisation of hol- low instruments (with long, narrow lumina) and porous objects always requires sev- eral (at least three (3)) pre- vacuum pulses to a defined, pre-set, vacuum level. Fewer instruments, better control The type of equipment and the type of procedures in use at the clinic will to a very high extent determine the safety margin of decontamination. A very important issue, that is often foreseen, is the logis- tics of instruments. A com- mon problem in many dental offices is an overload of in- struments, which will con- tribute to a more difficult and time demanding procedure to keep track of all instruments and to make sure that storage and sterile as well as packag- ing/wrapping conditions are maintained. An item heavily loaded with microbiological mate- rial will be more difficult to sterilise than one lightly con- taminated. The most effective stage of any decontamination procedure is thorough clean- ing and this should accom- pany or precede all disinfec- tion procedures. The effect of cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation is affected by the design of the cassettes/ trays being used. Shadow ef- fects may easily ensue from the use of solid cassettes so that instruments are not be- ing properly cleaned, neither in washer disinfectors nor in ultrasonic bath. Fastened but free Instruments should be free and fastened on trays so that ultrasonic waves, water jets and steam can reach every part to clean and inactivate efficiently during the whole procedure of disinfection and sterilisation. Even if fastened the instruments must be free and have no contact points/ areas with the locking device. An area of contact will not be properly cleaned and disin- fected. Two different metals will cause corrosion Corrosion is a common prob- lem. When in the same fluid, instruments and other articles made of different metals may corrode, and corrosion de- stroys sharp and delicate in- struments. Corrosion pits will also make the surface rough, which increases the possi- bilities of microorganisms to attach themselves to the in- struments. Mixing different types of metal in a liquid solu- tion will result in an electro- chemical cell and cause cor- rosion – this is often the case during cleaning, ultrasonic bath and washer disinfectors when using aluminium trays and instruments in stainless steel or when cleaning carbon burs and burs made of stain- less steel in the same liquid container. However, in daily dentistry we call this rust and blame the manufacturer for poor material – the actual problem is clinical routines! Don’t make it too heavy Metallic weight is another de- cisive in decontamination and sterilisation. The heat energy from the ultrasonic waves in the ultrasonic bath and/or the water in a dishwasher or washer disinfector as well as the saturated steam from the steriliser shall be concentrat- ed on the instruments that are to be processed. A load that is too heavy lessens the effect of disinfection and sterilisation. The steam sterilisers that are most frequently used in den- tal clinics are adapted to loads of 4.0–4.5 kilos. A stainless steel tray with instruments for endodontic procedures has a weight of approximately 1.5–1.7 kilos! This will be an important issue to consider when using trays made out Prices you can smile about Offers available from 1st May to 29th June 2012 Infection Control Special Offers FREEHD CAMCORDER ON ORDERS OVER £199* Phone for full offer sheet 5 Star Reviews! 720p HD Video Recording Mini HDMI Port Digital Zoom Rechargable www.topdental.org *Selected products from the current offer sheet. Full terms and conditions available on request. 0800 132 373 FREE 1L DISPENSER WITH EVERY 5L CONTACT TIME FROM 30 SECONDS Autorinse™ Daily and Weekly Suction Cleaner & Disinfectant 5 Litres of concentrate makes 100 litres. From only £8.99 Disinfecting Concentrate for instruments From only £16.95 I-Dis-212™ Instrument Disinfectant Ultrasonic Cleaner Concentrate 5L refill bottle only £24.85 Ultra-Bio™ Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), E-Coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus hirae, Staphylococcus Aureus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), Clostridium Difficile (C-Diff) vegetative cell formation (growing cells) of Gram positive organisms, HIV 1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Human Influenza B Virus (HIBV), Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Tested to all required EN standards and according to DGHM guidelines Tested against: Instruments Special Areas FREE 1L DISPENSER WITH 2 x 5L Chlorispray™ Ready to use alcohol based high level disinfectant spray. Available in lemon or Natural aroma. From only £3.25 Tested against: Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), H1N1 Influenza A Virus, Escherichia Coli (E-Coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus hirae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), Clostridium Difficile (C-Diff) vegetative cell formation (growing cells) of Gram positive organisms, HIV-1, Human Influenza B Virus (HIBV), Staphylococcus Aureus, Hepatitis C Virus, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans Tested to all required EN standards and according to DGHM guidelines Micro-V™ Standard Size Surface Disinfectant Wipes The most popular size of wipe. Our standard tubs and refills hold 100 wipes (size 185 x 135mm) and are available in Lemon or natural. From only £1.45 Large size surface disinfectant wipes, size 200 x 200mm, Available in tubs and refill packs of 200. From only £3.25 MAX-Wipes™ Tubs and Refill packs Surface Spray & Wipes CONTACT TIME FROM 30 SECONDS Dental tribune_June12.indd 1 28/05/2012 12:00 17Infection Control TribuneJune 4-10, 2012United Kingdom Edition 17 page 18DT 