INSTRUMENTS CONFORM TO EUROPEAN SHARPS/INJURIES DIRECTIVE - 2010/32/UE

1. Foreword

In recent years, in dental hand instruments field we have observed a lack of novelty useful for the dentist and his team. Some geometrical change of the working tips, variants to the geometries of the handles, use of different material of construction, some variations in the form and retention of the handles but nothing more.

2. Simplicity and effectiveness

Crisis, decline in marked demand, manufacturing costs: many factors have contributed not to push big news.

An Italian company presented a hadle that brakes the mold of existing ones. With an eye to the safety of the dentist, assistant and hygenist, has realized a handle longer than the existing ones on the market today.

Tradizionally the handles of the instruments that put at risk the operator cuts and punctures like scalers, curettes, probes are 100-105 mm length. In rare case 110 mm length. This new handle is about 115 mm length considering the external steel parts, on which the ends are fixed.

3. Characteristics

The design is not limited to a longer handle: the handle is made of a plastic material which doesn’t contain toxic component recently banned such as the parabens, but doesn’t contain even PVC, phtalates and many other toxic components.

Not only that, the tips are inserted in steel inserts which are co-moulded in the plastic material but without being totally drowned. Part of them emerge sas to allow a perfect cleaning and sterilization of the instrument.

Diagram summarizes the characteristics:

The criterion of assembly of the tips is innovative, too. The handle contains no metal ensuring the typical lightness and manageability of plastic instruments. The socket is favored by a diameter of 10.5 mm.

These three huge advantages have been obtained simply by lenghtening the handle and reviewing the criteria for entering tips as a simple operation but up to now no one had ever put into practice.

Even those who use sterilization boxes can use the longer instruments with no problem by putting them in the longer side or, just at the time of repurchase, buying boxes suitable for such use, for example the ones that Hu-Friedy manufactures since a lot.

4.Where to find them?

In Italy there are two companies that joined this project: QUASAR DENTAL EQUPMENT www.quasardental.com from Legnano (MI) already known for the best quality of rubber polishers and for its silicon universal base called Nest and Den-Tag www.dentag.com from Maniago (PN) already known for its very good quality and range of dental instruments.

There instruments can be purchased from dental deposits or you can simply contact the above mentioned manufacturers to learn about the place of purchase and prices.

5.Conclusions

Instruments with split ends may injure the operator’s hand or brake the glove (with the opposite tips of the working one). The possibility of injury is during use, handling or passing the instrument between Assistant-Dentist-Assistant.

As an additional preventive action Today the dentist can choose an instrument with a longer handle instead of a “traditional lenght” one.