Dental Nursing – Why Use Disposables and Correct Waste Disposal?

Many products used in dental surgeries are disposable, single-use products, cups, paper towels, etc. Some products are available to dental care professionals as either re-usable – to be sterilised or disinfected, or as disposable, these include items such as; aspirator tips (suction tips), patient bibs, and patient glasses.

As far as cross infection is concerned the more disposable products used the better, as they are single–use, they pose no threat to patients where contamination may occur, and of course they require no cleaning by the dental nurse so the nurse is put at less risk of infection. However, running a dental practice is very expensive; particularly for NHS practices as patient fees are set and cannot incorporate material costs, and cost effectiveness is important to dental practioners therefore using all available disposable products is not always the simple answer, of course certain products must be single use, needles, scalpels, gloves, masks etc.

All disposable products must be disposed of properly following the guidelines and regulations that are in place.

Correct Waste Disposal

Surgery waste is controlled in part by the Environment Agency and is classed as non-domestic waste, which falls into two main categories;

• Hazardous Waste
• Special Waste

Hazardous Waste

This includes most surgery waste,

• Anything which contains bodily fluids – blood and saliva (most disposable products)
• Any items used to clean the clinical areas that are not autoclavable (wipes, paper towels etc)
• Extracted teeth (if they do not contain amalgam fillings)
• Sharps (scalpels needles, metal matrix strips, endodontic instruments, orthodontic wires)

This waste (except sharps) must be placed into yellow clinical waste sacks which are provided by a special waste company, the sacks must be labelled with an identity tag so that if the waste must be traced it can be, the sacks are sealed with special ties and are stored away from the public before being collected by waste companies (who provide official documentation -to be kept by the practice), and are incinerated.

Sharps waste is placed into a yellow puncture-proof bucket which has a snap shut lid, this is provided by waste companies also, it must not be more than ¾ full before it is sealed shut, this also has an identity tag, is stored away from the public, is documented and collected for incineration.

This waste must adhere to laws within the Environmental Protection Act, the Environmental Protection Regulations, and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Act.

Special Waste

Special waste cannot be incinerated, unlike hazardous waste, as this is too dangerous, this waste must be handled with special care and attention as it may be toxic or carcinogenic. Special waste includes;

• Amalgam (including extracted teeth containing amalgam fillings)
• Amalgam capsules
• X-ray fixer and developer
• Lead foil
• Out of date prescription drugs (usually from the emergency kit)

This waste is place into specific sealed pots which are provided by special waste companies, they must be labelled with identity tags, stored away from the public, collected and documented before being destroyed by the waste company. All dental care professionals have a duty to ensure all waste is disposed of properly, failure to do so can lead to de-registration.