The environmental detriment of using disposable coffee cups and paper plates has been well documented. The same concept applies to the use—or overuse—of disposable paper and plastic products in dental hygiene.
Of course, one-and-done is required for many products in your operatory, including gloves, masks and patient bibs. But what about those products—mainly hygiene instruments—that can’t be disposed of but need sterilization paper and pouches? Can you reduce your office’s carbon footprint by washing them in a reusable container? The answer is yes.
SciCan’s SALUS hygiene instrument reprocessing container provides that solution, enabling clinicians to safely store and transport instruments during every step: use, transport, cleaning, sterilization, and storage.
Here are 5 advantage of using a hygiene reprocessing container like SALUS:
1. Eliminates the wrap - Sterilization paper and pouches may seem inexpensive enough. But start buying them in bulk, and it quickly adds up, as do the hours spent wrapping instruments and the resulting waste. SALUS is comprised of a reusable rack and sleeve that are made of medical-grade resin that’s validated for biocompatibility and designed to withstand steam sterilization.
2. Provides safe transport – Safety in the operatory is paramount, but safety and time don’t always mix. Accidents can happen as your staff tries to turn over the operatory quickly. SALUS eliminates the need for staff to handle hygiene instruments during reprocessing, allowing them to safely and easily transport the instruments in the rack and sleeve. There’s also a tamper evident latch that’s activated when processed through a steam sterilizer, and rack handles lock the instruments in place.
3. Maintains OSHA compliance – Compliance is of utmost importance. SALUS is OSHA-compliant for transport, and the safety knob locks the container for secure transport.
4. Ease-of-use – You don’t want to waste time figuring out a contraption or worrying if the instruments will properly sterilize. Salus has 4 potential locations (marked on the cradle handles) designed to allow the cradle handles to clamp down and secure the chemical indicator. Placing the indicator in one of these locations will allow its result to be easily viewed through the transparent container sleeve upon completion of the sterilization cycle, without compromising sterility of the contents.
5. Provides capacity and storage – SALUS fits most standard solid instruments (up to 6.88 inches’). You don’t have to worry if supplies in an operatory are not being used for several days. The hygiene containers can be stacked in storage, and the sterility of the container contents is ensured for 30 days.
SALUS’s sturdy container is designed to last 2,500 cycles, and it fits compactly into SciCan’s HYDRIM instrument washers as well as the BRAVO autoclave.
Starbucks will stop using disposable straws by 2020. Next year, will your dental office reduce its carbon footprint with steam sterilization?
Learn more about these products at www.scican.com, and for an even closer look, visit SciCan’s booth at the Greater New York Dental Meeting, booth #4618.