DAC UNIVERSAL : 10 Years of Maximum Hygienic Safety

For 10 years, Dentsply Sirona Instruments has satisfied the most stringent hygiene requirements imposed on dental practices with the DAC UNIVERSAL combination autoclave. Now, the addition of the new FLEX lid extends the requirements profile for the device and closes the hygiene gap in mechanical reprocessing.

After acquiring the hygiene division of Danish company Nitram 10 years ago, Dentsply Sirona continued developing the DAC UNIVERSAL combination autoclave to create a reprocessing device with validation processes for handpieces in dentistry. By 2006, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommended that medical devices be reprocessed only with suitable, validated procedures to prevent infection. This prompted Dentsply Sirona Instruments to document the autoclave's reprocessing procedures so that the technical and hygienic operation of the device, as well as its processes, can be tested and validated. As a result, dentists and their teams can practice safe dentistry.

"The technology of our DAC UNIVERSAL complies with the most stringent requirements, so we can offer dentists greater legal certainty," says Eric Berndt, hygiene product manager at Dentsply Sirona Instruments, referring to the tougher demands for compliance with hygiene guidelines imposed by the health authorities. Simultaneously, the capacities of practice teams and the space they have in many reprocessing rooms are limited; therefore, the equipment required for mechanical reprocessing should be simple, effective, safe and usable with verifiable results for many different instruments.

Unsurpassed hygienic safety with the DAC UNIVERSAL
Compared with other reprocessing methods, the DAC UNIVERSAL offers not only process safety but significant time advantages as well, because it is the only device on the market that can clean, lubricate and sterilize up to six turbines, and straight and contra-angle handpieces in 16 minutes. Using this device, instruments are quickly ready for use again, which lowers the dentist's investment cost in handpieces. Additionally, no chemical additives are used during the cleaning process, which is beneficial for the working life of the instruments.

For IDS 2015, Dentsply Sirona Instruments expanded the reprocessing capabilities of the combination autoclave to include more instruments. With the new FLEX lid on the DAC UNIVERSAL, the device can now be used for internal and external cleaning, thermal disinfection of ultrasonic tips and handpieces as well as the nozzles of multifunctional syringes. The STANDARD lid can be used for cleaning, maintaining and sterilizing up to six wrapped handpieces, or a wire basket makes it possible to reprocess solid instruments such as probes, mirrors or curettes. The ultrasonic tips are reprocessed together with their associated torque wrenches and undergo a closed, fully automated hygiene cycle so that sources of error are excluded.

Various adapters also make it possible to reprocess instruments from other manufacturers in the DAC UNIVERSAL. Yet another advantage is the graphical user interface that enables simple, intuitive operation. The current status is shown in the LCD display throughout the hygiene cycle. All-important reprocessing parameters and confirmation of successful completion of the program can be documented after the cycle ends.