Surgical equipment requires a
substantial investment and ongoing care to maintain the instruments clean and
in perfect condition. There are various methods to clean, disinfect and
sterilize your surgical equipment – here are some:
- Cleaning your ortho instruments – this process involves the removal of biological material, dirt and debris from the surface of your instruments through manual cleaning, with the use of water and detergents or enzyme-based cleaning substances;
- Disinfecting – this process has three different levels: low, intermediate and high-level disinfection. Low-level disinfection usually consists of 10-minute treatment in specialized pieces of equipment to eliminate various types of bacteria, viruses and fungi; intermediate-level disinfection takes longer and it is intended to remove specific bacilli, fungi and viruses, while high-level disinfection takes over an hour and removes even the most resistant contaminants from the surface of the instruments;
- Sterilization – the highest and most efficient type of cleaning procedure removes all bacterial life on the instruments with the help of dry heat or autoclaving processes.
The equipment intended for cleaning, disinfecting and sterilization processes use hot air, hot water, ultrasound or special detergents to ensure complete hygiene. Some types of equipment can be used for all three types of sanitation processes, others are intended for one or two of them.
