Added safety with fully virucidal products from Dürr Dental System Hygiene

They're invisible, multiply as quick as a flash, and they make you ill. Viruses, bacteria, and fungi are ever-present in a whole range of different forms. Fighting against these agents of disease is everyday life in dental surgeries. However, the spectrum of action of each disinfectant and the usage for which they are suited are not always clear.

Anybody who thinks that a quick wipe gets rid of everything is fooling themself. This is because the biological differences between viruses, bacteria, and fungi mean that disinfectants with a bactericidal and fungicidal effect are not necessarily effective against all viruses. The stability of viruses differs, too. As a rule, enveloped viruses such as herpes or HIV are easier to disinfect than non-enveloped viruses such as noroviruses. Members of the surgery team therefore often ask themselves whether a partially virucidal product is sufficient or a fully virucidal product should be used? Partially virucidal products are effective against enveloped viruses only, whereas fully virucidal agents disarm non-enveloped viruses, too.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) requires fully virucidal efficacy in the case of the final disinfection of semi-critical medical products (Federal Health Gazette 10-2012, p. 1254). It is also important to use a disinfectant that has been tested, certified, and listed by an expert association such as the VAH, since this is the only way to ensure that the effectiveness of the product has been confirmed in specific tests. Furthermore, factors such as the exposure time, concentration, and application method influence the efficacy of a disinfection measure - clear specifications on the part of the manufacturer are therefore vital. They help to keep errors to a minimum. In any case, the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute are useful pointers for successful surgery hygiene. The ABC risk classification system of the RKI provides guidelines for surgeries usage of medical products, for example. Dürr Dental supplies partially and fully virucidal product variants for instrument and surface disinfectants.

For medical product treatment, the RKI requires fully virucidal agents/procedures in all cases where the disinfection processes is not followed by a sterilization procedure. In the case of critical and semi-critical medical products in risks classes A and B, a manual chemical disinfection process is still allowed. However, the scope of action of the product for semi-critical medical products must be bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal, as is the case for instrument disinfectant concentrate ID 213 and drill disinfectant solution ID 220 by Dürr Dental.

ID 213 dissolves and removes stubborn soiling on instruments. It is also a material-friendly disinfectant and is cost-effective thanks to its long stand time of 14 days. ID 220 was developed specially for the cleaning and disinfection of fine structures on rotating instruments. The drill disinfectant is characterized by high corrosion protection and a long stand time of seven days along with short exposure times of 30 seconds in an ultrasonic bath and one minute in a burr sterilizer.

In the case of surface disinfection, correct risk assessment is difficult since there is no RKI classification system. However, virucidal products tend to offer more protection from infection than other products in this field, too. The fully virucidal quick surface disinfectant FD 333 is particularly suitable. The fresh-smelling ready-to-use solution works in just one minute and is gentle on surfaces. FD 333 is also available as ready-to-use wipes for practical and fast application. For larger surfaces, the fully virucidal, particularly economical surface disinfectant FD 300 is ideal. This product is also available in the form of ready-to-use wipes.

Source: Dürr Dental