How to properly clean your dental suction unit?

The evacuation system is an essential component of most dental procedures. When it is functioning properly, life is good for the clinical team and patients. But a decrease in volume causes stress and inefficiency for everyone.

Maintaining the system, as with most of the equipment in a dental facility, is critical to proper functioning. Cleaning the dental suction unit’s lines and changing the solids collectors (traps) must be performed regularly to maintain proper functionality. But there seems to be some confusion as to whether to clean or disinfect the suction lines -- or perhaps both. If you use products that may be incompatible with the evacuation system or that may cause a reaction with contents of the solids collectors, it is important to understand the appropriate protocol.

Research has shown that there is a small possibility of cross-contamination from backflow from the low-volume suction lines used for the saliva ejector. The saliva ejector is most commonly used in hygiene treatment rooms, where hygienists will instruct patients to close their lips tightly around the saliva ejector tip to efficiently remove fluids.

The first study that demonstrated the backflow potential was published in 1993. As recently as 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a guideline about the use of saliva ejectors. The CDC stated that patients should not be instructed to close their lips tightly around the saliva ejector, and that suction lines should be disinfected daily.

Suction lines in the hygiene treatment rooms should be cleaned every day with an evacuation system cleaner to remove blood and debris, and a disinfectant that is compatible with the evacuation system should be run through the tubing. The low-volume suction lines should be disinfected between patients.

Using a small amount of a waterline cleaner/disinfectant between patients is a good choice since the waterline cleaner/disinfectants are compatible with the evacuation system.

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