During these troubling times, the future of the dental industry faces many uncertainties in the face of coronavirus.

However, some potential problems can be avoided with the right precautions – including the correct maintenance of practice equipment.

As there is no way of knowing when dental teams will be back to their regular routines, it is crucial that equipment is properly cared for in the interim.

You might be wondering what you should do with your treatment centres prior to closing your practice or is there any protocol that you may need to follow. We are sharing with you a few simple steps on how to protect your dental equipment when leaving unused for long periods. Please read carefully prior to taking any action.

1. Follow your normal waterline maintenance protocol
2. If complete shutdown is imminent take off the clean water bottle (if you have one) and tip any residue water away and put the bottle back on empty.
3. After removing the couplings and handpieces from the delivery system, run the automatic flush if your unit has one.
4. Do not forget to clean your suction hoses and spittoon with your usual suction cleaner. Then run water through the hoses to make sure any residue left in the hoses is diluted down.
5. Make sure the suction pump is switched on before cleaning the hoses.
6. When the system is completely dry and the suction hoses cleaned, switch the main chair switch off.
7. If all the treatment centres in the practice are to be shut down for a period of time make sure the staff turn off the compressor and the suction pump.
8. If you are concerned about shutting down your Ancar equipment call your equipment dealer to help you run through this process safely. They will always be happy to help and advise at this difficult time.
9. When the time comes to return the dental treatment centre back to full use, please be aware that you will need to test your waterlines before using them. This action is essential part of the process as you want to check that you don’t have any biofilm build-up during the period of stagnation.

Should you want to contact your nearest Ancar dealer, click HERE