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Dental Systems

There are two essential systems without which any dental surgery CEASES TO FUNCTION, the air compressor and its associated equipment and the suction system. Gloucester Compressed Air Specialists Limited are able to provide servicing, repair, installation, and hire of compressed air or vacuum equipment to keep your surgery performing as it should. Here at GCASL Dental Surgery Specialists we serve dental surgeries throughout the West Midlands including Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester, the Midlands and South Wales.

Dental Quality Compressed Air

The cleanliness and quality of compressed air is, of course, paramount when dealing with members of the public, however are you aware that early hand piece failure and equipment malfunction can also be attributed to poor quality compressed air? All compressors produce condensate (water) as part of the mechanical process of compressing atmospheric air. If condensate is present in surgery air, the filter material of an in line bacterial filter can become wet - this can allow micro organisms to penetrate the filter putting your patient at risk of coming in to contact with contaminated air.

Suction Systems

Removal of liquids and debris from the operating area along with amalgam separation are all essential functions of any dental procedure, but suction systems are often overlooked until they lose efficiency or fail completely.

Gloucester Compressed Air Specialists Limited can advise on service schedules for air and suction systems, filtration, air dryer specification, and improving your present compressed air and vacuum systems.

Please note that a standard air compressor service may not necessarily include an "air quality" test with written and recorded results

HTM 01-05

The Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 was published in 2009 by the Department of Health for primary care dental practices. This ensures that all dental practices have effective infection control methods in place at all times to increase the quality of decontamination. The memorandum will become a compulsory requirement for all dental practices by the end of 2012 and all practices should have an appointed person to make sure that the appropriate measures are all in place by the end of 2010.

Sterilisation and Decontamination

Sterilisation and decontamination are a very important part of all dental practices and need to be kept to a very high standard to eliminate the risk of patient infection. The equipment supplied by GCASL will help dental practices maintain a high level of sterilisation and decontamination at all times.

Patient Protection

To help protect your patients the following measures should be considered.

• A compressed air dryer and dust filter installed in the system. The dryer system should be capable of producing air with a dew point not less than -20°C
• A bacterial filter to reduce the risk of delivering spores or other infectious matter via dental air.
• Suction systems cleaned regularly, suction filters removed and cleaned or replaced.
• Regularly checking the dryness of the dental air supplied to a bacterial filter. Micro-organisms can penetrate a bacterial filter if the material becomes wet.

Is this a legal requirement? Yes & No?

Dry, filtered and Clean Air Dentistry Compressors are a legal requirement within the NHS hospital environment, orthodontist, operating theatre etc. The NHS guidance document (Health Technical Memorandum 2022) discusses dental compressed air and provides further details of air quality requirements for dental surgeries in hospital settings.

Dentists are "on their own" at the present time(jan 2009)however there is expected to be a change in the very near future regarding this and it is highly recommended that tests should be carried out sooner rather than later. Private practices are not required to conform to HTM2022 but this document does give excellent guidance as to the quality of compressed air that should be supplied to any surgery. Best practice demands that air used in dental surgeries is free from the contaminants mentioned above.

If you are looking for services in dental air compressors before a compressor is used, a 'competent' person should draw up a written scheme of examination detailing its periodic examination. The owner of the compressor must ensure that the periodic examinations are carried to the written scheme. The Healthy and Safety Executive recommends examinations should occur at least once every 26 months for air compressors.