Dentist

According to the guidelines, a validated sterilisation process is necessary to prevent cross-contamination and ensure patient safety.

In practice, a Class B autoclave is the standard for dental practices. This class fully sterilises both solid and hollow
instruments, as well as pre-packaged sets.

Virtually all heat-resistant dental instruments can be placed in an autoclave. These include mirrors, probes, extraction forceps, scalers and hand instruments. Even complex instruments such as handpieces and contra-angles can be safely sterilised if you use a Class B autoclave.

An autoclave sterilises instruments using steam at high pressure and temperature. First, the air is removed from the chamber (vacuum phase), after which the steam penetrates deep into the instruments.

The sterilisation phase is followed by a drying phase, so that you can use the instruments straight away or store them in a sterile condition. The entire process runs automatically via pre-set programmes.

A Class B autoclave offers the most comprehensive sterilisation. It allows you to sterilise not only individual instruments, but also pre-packaged sets and complex instruments such as handpieces.

This makes this class the safest choice for dental practices, where you work with hard-to-reach surfaces.

For small dental practices, an 18-litre autoclave is usually the best choice. It offers sufficient capacity for a single treatment room and daily instrument sets.

Do you have several treatment rooms or a high volume of patients? In that case, a 23-litre model is often more efficient for minimising waiting times.

The right capacity depends on your workflow. An 18-litre autoclave is suitable for smaller practices, whilst a 23-litre model is better suited to practices with multiple treatment rooms or larger instrument sets. A larger capacity means you can sterilise more sets at once and run fewer cycles.

A good autoclave for dentists starts at €2,049. The price increases depending on capacity and additional features.

You demonstrate this using test programmes and process logging. Examples include Helix and vacuum tests, and automatic reporting via USB or printer.

With a B-autoclave, you receive a 2-year warranty as standard, provided the unit is serviced regularly under our maintenance contract.