Management of Materials,Medicament, Instruments & equipment

• Effective management of Materials,Medicament, Instruments & equipment is one of the key feature of successful Dental Practice.
• We can not perform better than the armamentarium.
• Good quality armament keeps delivering precise and exceptional performance only till the time they have a validity to function to the extent it is meant to be , it is used the way it is supposed to be & it is maintained and calibrated regularly on ongoing basis.

• We as dentists use a wide range of materials & equipment compared to any other health care provider.
• At every point of time we need to be sure that this material is bio compatible & has enough scientific evidence to support its use for the patients.
• This process includes policies and procedures that guide the availability, safe storage, prescription, dispensing & administration of medications.
• It also includes care, maintenance and the process to maintain all the dental equipment hassle-free by organizing it and setting up systems to counter audit it and prolonging the life and durability of the equipment that has been procured.
• Material selection and its procurement is one of the critical element of the Dental Practice and hence you should always use materials which are backed with sufficient scientific evidence & bear a valid quality control certification.
• The procurement process should be documented and audited periodically and all the material procured should be stored in temperatures and in conditions recommended by manufacturers.
• Manufacturers’ instructions and expiry dates should be considered stringently before use on patients.
• Dental Implants should cater extra care and use of implants approved by bodies like FDI, ADA, ISO etc. should be used as they are widely accepted by everybody.

Equipment

• A dental Practice uses different kind of mechanical,electrical & electronic instruments.
• Selection criteria for the instruments and equipment must address to the issues like ability to autoclave & disinfect before each use, along with its precision and quality.
• All equipment must confirm to the global quality standards.
• Breakdown service within a reasonable time frame must be committed by the manufacturer or a dealer if you are making a decision to purchase any sophisticated equipment.
• You should ensure that the company allows you to operate with the equipment uninterruptedly through AMCs.
• Equipment that needs periodic calibration should be calibrated and documented.

This section addresses to the various aspects and policies of material storage, equipment handling and various policies to guide these systems.