20 NEWS Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | 3/2021 Twenty years of DAC Universal: Dentsply Sirona celebrates a sparkling clean success story a n o r i S y l p s t n e D © In 2000, the launch of the first DAC Universal changed reprocessing in dental clinics. Five years later, the first updated edition of DAC Uni- versal entered the market, followed by a new model again in 2009. By 2017, 40,000 DAC Universal units had been installed worldwide. Over the years, many technical improve- ments and upgrades have been added, including the graphic display, intuitive user interface, and the pos- sibility to reprocess not only contra- angle handpieces and turbines, but also e.g. ultrasonic/sonic handpieces and tips as well as nozzles of multi- functional syringes, and powder jet devices and handpieces. Today, DAC Universal meets the expectations of dental professionals, offering profes- sional care, cost-effective reprocess- ing, fully automatic reprocessing, and legal certainty. The latest update includes new features that enhance user-friendly handling: touch dis- play, LAN interface, guided Check & Clean maintenance workflow. Ute Wurmstich, technical sterilisation assistant from Gilborn dentists in Germany, summarises: "Living up to the philosophy 'Inspired by your needs', Dentsply Sirona is in constant contact with the industry to develop products that make our work and daily routines safer, more efficient and a lot easier. The result is visible in the evolution of solutions like the DAC Universal." Classification “full virucidal ac- tivity” confirmed A lab study from the independent accredited test lab “HygCen Ger- many”, by Dr. Sebastian Werner and commissioned by Dentsply Sirona, recently confirmed on June 30, 2020 the full virucidal activity of the DAC Universal family, including activity against all enveloped and non-en- veloped viruses.* Enveloped viruses include SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus, HI virus and influ- enza. Werner, medical specialist for hy- giene and environmental medicine, states: “As far as I know, there is cur- rently no other technical reprocess- ing unit of this size and speed on the market in the field of dentistry that could represent the bactericidal, lev- urocidal and virucidal activity in the same way as a DAC Universal.” DAC Universal D: Safe cleaning, disinfection, and oil care DAC Universal D, launched in 2019, features an intuitive user interface with its touch display. In approxi- mately 15 minutes, up to six instru- ments are reprocessed fully auto- matically at the touch of a button. “The advantages of the new model are clearly quantifiable in time and cost saving. Overall, the process time is reduced by up to 46% compared to the previous model. This means that instruments are available again sooner for the next treatment, and practices also have to stock signifi- cantly fewer handpieces and contra- angles," says Geil. The new version offers two pro- grammes to choose from: The Blue Lid programme was specially de- signed for rotating instruments such as turbines, handpieces, and contra- angles. Reprocessing starts with a cold pre-wash. Internal cleaning of the spray and gear channels is fol- lowed by fully automatic oil mainte- nance of the gear channels. External cleaning with the pulse-wash meth- od removes dirt and deposits on the outer surfaces of the instruments By Dentsply Sirona In the anniversary year of Dentsply Sirona’s successful infection control solution, DAC Universal, the topic of infection prevention is more rel- evant than ever. Seamless, excel- lent hygiene in dental practices and clinics helps to give patients the confidence to have preventive ex- aminations and important dental treatments. DAC Universal has stood for excel- lent hygiene and safety standards for 20 years. A remarkable characteristic in the field of dental solutions – as remarkable as its mode of operation. DAC Universal does not require chemical cleaning agents but uses only demineralised water for the re- processing of medical instruments – a feature that helps to preserve the lifespan of instruments. Cleaning, thermal disinfection or unwrapped sterilization and optional lubrica- tion: The fully compliant and auto- matic reprocessing cycle takes only 15 or 21 minutes, depending on the programme. All cleaning steps are standardised and fully automated at the touch of a button, which signifi- cantly minimises application errors. A success story since 2000 in close cooperation with dental experts DAC Universal has been a continu- ous success with dental experts worldwide. Not least because in- sights gained from working with dental experts have helped to op- timise DAC Universal for users. "By engaging with dentists, we can offer innovative ideas and safe solutions that are tailored to the requirements of everyday practice," says Michael Geil, group vice president of equip- ment and instruments at Dentsply Sirona. Find out more by scanning the QR code. The new DAC Universal S completes the DAC Universal product portfolio with a sterilisa- tion function especially for markets that require sterilisation instead of a disinfection of unwrapped medical devices. The new DAC Universal D was launched in 2019 and features an intuitive user interface with its touch display. The DAC reprocesses up to six instruments fully automatically in approx. 15 minutes at the touch of a button. The DAC Universal GUI was launched in 2015. The lid holder has two pulling rods and a more user-friendly Graphical User Interface compared to the previous models. The DAC 2000 was launched in 2000 and produced until August 2004. The combina- tion autoclave was new to the hygiene market and able to wash, lubricate and sterilise instruments in one machine. even more thoroughly than the pre- decessor model. Finally, the instru- ments are thermally disinfected and cooled with cold, sterile air. The sec- ond program, Green Lid programme, is used for instruments that do not require lubrication: Ultrasonic and sonic handpieces and tips, nozzles of multifunction syringes, and pow- der jet devices and handpieces. The reprocessing steps are identical to those of Blue Lid, except that lubrica- tion is not required. DAC Universal S: All-in-one and all-round protection Launched in September 2020, the new DAC Universal S completes the DAC Universal product portfolio with a sterilization function espe- cially for markets that require steri- lisation instead of a disinfection of unwrapped medical devices. The automatic programme selec- tion allows for two programmes that provide high process reliability. The Pink Lid Programme is specially designed for rotating instruments such as turbines, straight and con- tra-angle handpieces. The cleaning performance is excellent, and the re- sults far exceed the standard values (80% better) required by the Robert Koch Institute (The Robert Koch In- stitute is a German federal govern- ment agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention). Finally, instruments are sterilized at 134°C with three minutes of holding time, and then cooled with cold, sterile air. The second programme, White Lid programme, is used for instruments that do not require lubrication: e.g. ultrasonic and sonic handpieces and tips or nozzles of multifunctional syringes, and powder jet devices and handpieces. The cleaning steps are almost identical to the Pink Lid Pro- gram, but with the lubrication step removed. Geil, says: “With the DAC Universal D and the DAC Universal S we have completed the DAC family. Infection control and instrument reprocessing follow strict requirements all over the world. With the DAC family we enable the dental practice to meet these requirements and to guaran- tee safety according to the legal and technical standards in every market. In times of COVID-19, it is a mandato- ry assurance of dentists to their staff and patients helping uphold dental care under trying circumstances.” *A summary of the study can be made available by Dentsply Sirona upon request. For more information about the full Dentsply Sirona portfolio, please contact your local representative. Dentsply Sirona 21st Floor, The Bay Gate Tower Business Bay, Al Sa’ada Street Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 (0)4 523 0600 Web: www.dentsplysirona.com/en E-mail: MEA-Marketing@dentsplysirona.com