The Importance of Preventative Maintenance for Dental Equipment

Preventive maintenance in dental clinics can be critical to the overall success of your practice. There is no doubt the equipment that allows you to do your job every day is very important and also a significant investment. By implementing a well thought out prevention plan you can ensure yourself, your staff and patients are well protected. The last thing you want is a piece of equipment failing while it is being used on a patient.

How to Implement a Prevention Maintenance Plan

Thinking ahead and preventing a breakdown before it happens will save you time and money in the long run. You might be wondering where to start when it comes to implementing a prevention plan at your clinic. The first thing we recommend is to speak to an accredited technician who you can consult with to help get you started. The certified technicians at Central Dental Solutions have years of experience and would be able to help you find a maintenance plan that will best suit your needs.

How Equipment Needs to be Maintained

The equipment that you have will vary in degrees of which they need to be maintained.

Sterilization equipment has always been important, but with ever changing infection control protocols, it is now more critical than ever. Routine cleaning is essential and an overall check is recommended at least annually.

Air compressors have filters that need to be checked regularly, and changed a minimum of once a year. If they are oil type, oil levels will need to be checked monthly. The quality of your air affects patient care as well as your handpiece instrumentation.

Suction equipment should be properly cleaned with appropriate products daily and monthly. At the very minimum suction equipment should be serviced once a year.

As you know, handpieces have many moving parts that make it work so well. They are a very complicated piece of equipment although it does not look like it from the outside. The only responsibility a dentist or dental assist should take on themselves for handpieces is the cleaning and lubrication. Beyond that, any maintenance work should be done by an accredited service technician. By getting your handpiece maintained consistently, you will avoid costly repairs and downtime.  

As far as dental units go, monitoring handpiece pressure, and checking for cuts or abrasion in the many tubing’s can prevent premature failure of handpieces and costly downtime.

Central Dental Solutions Rapport Plan

At Central Dental, we believe ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ We offer a rapport plans at 3 different levels to suit your clinic. Clients who sign up for our rapport plans qualify for special labour discounts. You can find out more about our Rapport Plan here.

RESOURCES

https://www.dentaleconomics.com/macro-op-ed/article/16391603/handpiece-maintenance-101