Press releases

Time, water and chemicals saved – instruments are dry in an instant

No. 085/215

Bielefeld dentist tests thermal disinfector from Miele Professional

Bielefeld dentist Dr Michael Meier-Fedeler wouldn't want to give up his new thermal disinfector, even though the machine was initially a 'major change' for him and his employees. Since autumn 2014, Meier-Fedeler's dental surgery has been testing a thermal disinfector under everyday operating conditions. The result: his surgery has seen a much lighter reprocessing workload and a decrease in its use of water and chemicals. Most importantly, semi-critical instruments are once again ready to be used in dental work as soon as the drying programme has finished.

To ensure that patients spend as little time as possible in the waiting room, Meier-Fedeler works in close cooperation with his employees, which include one fellow dentist and five staff members. After every appointment, assistants stationed in the treatment rooms bring the instruments to the reprocessing area. 'Just a few months ago, that meant three to four hours a day spent on cleaning, disinfection in the bath and thorough rinses – all performed by hand', says Meier-Fedeler. His surgery had been using this instrument-reprocessing method ever since it was opened in 1987.

'Now, we switch on the thermal disinfector instead – and we've got a great deal of appreciation for what it can do', says Meier-Fedeler. His change of mind about his reprocessing method came in November 2013, spurred by the release of the German 'Guideline for the Validation of Manual Cleaning and Manual Chemical Disinfection of Medical Products'. It was the first time he had become aware that what he considered to be a 'proven' method was neither standardised nor verifiable. In a case of perfect timing, Miele Professional happened to be searching the region for test customers willing to give its new thermal disinfector from the Bielefeld plant a try with the help of frequent regular support from Miele Service.

At Meier-Fedeler's surgery, converting to the new equipment was a simple process: a 60 cm wide gap under the worktop was already available to accommodate a disinfector. Additionally, a three-phase supply had already been installed in 1987. The only thing left to do was to expand the surgery's set of dental instruments. Meier-Fedeler notes: 'We purchased quite a few more pieces. After all, we wanted to use the new machine at full capacity.' The surgery typically runs the disinfector twice a day – or more in the case of emergency treatments involving a particularly high number of extractors, mirrors or probes.

Vario TD Dental, the disinfector's most frequently used programme, takes one hour and 15 minutes. Once the cycle is complete, the instruments are ready for immediate use. That's what impresses Meier-Fedeler the most: 'The instruments are completely dry, and there is no residual water in any critical locations.' This is made possible by the new DryPlus drying function, which uses a steam condenser to remove all remaining moisture from the wash cabinet. A HEPA Class H13 particulate filter prevents air-borne particles in the ambient room air from entering the drying system and contaminating the instruments.

Meier-Fedeler is of course equally concerned with protecting his patients against infectious diseases, an area where the Vario TD programme also delivers reliable performance. Although he notes that it had been possible to prevent the transmission of infections before, Meier-Fedeler emphasises that 'by implementing machine-based cleaning and disinfection, we're following the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute and are therefore on the safe side, legally speaking.' He has also seen instrument reprocessing become much more economical: 'With our old method, the amount of water and disinfectants we used was costing us quite a bit of money.'

And if nothing else, the disinfector provides advantages for the surgery's entire team: 'Cleaning duty is now a thing of the past, and work is simply much more enjoyable', remarks Meier-Fedeler. His patients also benefit from the new machine, as more help is on hand at the dentist's chair than ever before. Patients with an appointment won't be kept long in the waiting room.

(671 words, 4,250 characters incl. spaces)

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2014/15 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.49 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for around 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of around 17,740, 10,350 thereof in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.

Download as PDF Download incl. media (zip)
Your contact

Anke Schläger
+ 49 5241 89-1949
anke.schlaeger@miele.com

Media information

Description Download

Perfectly clean and ready for the next procedure: Bielefeld dentist Dr Michael Meier-Fedeler can even be found using the new thermal disinfector from Miele Professional himself. 

High Resolution JPG

Perfectly clean and ready for the next procedure: Bielefeld dentist Dr Michael Meier-Fedeler can even be found using the new thermal disinfector from Miele Professional himself. 

High Resolution JPG

Dr Michael Meier-Fedeler has been running his dental surgery located on the outskirts of the Bielefeld city centre since 1987.

High Resolution JPG