Inspired by the needs of practices, Dentsply Sirona’s successful infection control system DAC Universal celebrates a new milestone with more than 50,000 sold devices. In times of COVID-19, dental practitioners have found thorough infection prevention concepts to be more vital than ever.

Charlotte/Bensheim. Seamless, excellent infection control in dental practices and clinics helps to give patients and staff confidence in safety. Dentsply Sirona’s DAC Universal has proven itself a continuous success in the hygiene concept of practices worldwide: 50,000 devices have been sold to date. A success story that started in the year 2000 and has its base in the close cooperation with dental experts to ensure a technological evolution according to practices’ needs.

The DAC Universal product portfolio offers cost-effective and fully automatic reprocessing and optional lubrication in only approximately 15 or 21¹  minutes, depending on the DAC Universal model and the program. The fully automatic process allows for validation certainty. Thanks to the automatic process, the parameters during the different steps are always the same and therefore the process can be validated. That ensures that the instrument is reprocessed properly, every time when it is reprocessed in DAC Universal (validation is regulated within DIN EN ISO 17665-1:2006-11).

All reprocessing steps are standardized and fully automated at the touch of a button. A lab study from the independent accredited test lab “HygCen Germany,” conducted by Dr. med. univ. Sebastian Werner and commissioned by Dentsply Sirona, confirmed on June 30, 2020 the full virucidal activity of the DAC Universal family, including activity against all enveloped and non-enveloped viruses². Enveloped viruses include SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus, HI virus and influenza.

Cord Stähler, Chief Technology Officer at Dentsply Sirona says: “The success story of DAC Universal underlines our commitment to leading the way in excellent infection control and prevention. The DAC Universal stands as an example for product evolution according to the requirements of dentists and dental professionals.”

Manuela Wimmer, dental assistant from Passau, Germany, has been a DAC Universal user for about 20 years, and agrees: “DAC Universal is a good example of a product that was evolved continuously according to the need of everyday practice routines. Starting with processes in terms of handling and documentation up to the optimization of the hygiene workflow. The solution became smarter, more digital and more intuitive – and more fun to use.”

To ensure very high maximum reliability and add value for the customer, Dentsply Sirona established a thorough testing regime for the DAC Universal portfolio. In endurance testing, 30 units could complete at least 10,000 cycles without maintenance. Six additionally tested units could even complete 30,000 cycles without maintenance – an equivalent of 3,000 working days with an average of ten cycles per day³. Before the sales launch, a successful customer trial series with 60 DAC Universal devices in ten countries also underlined the high customer satisfaction regarding product performance and quality.

Facts and figures about the DAC Universal product portfolio

In 2000, the launch of the first DAC Universal changed reprocessing in dental clinics. Five years later, the first updated edition of DAC Universal entered the market, followed by a new model again in 2009. By 2017, 40,000 DAC Universal units had been installed worldwide. Launched in September 2020, the DAC Universal S completes the DAC Universal product portfolio with a sterilization function especially for markets that require sterilization instead of a disinfection of unwrapped medical devices. DAC Universal S is available in select countries.

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Practice insight: “Saving time and costs is a huge benefit”

Celebrating the milestone of 50,000 sold DAC Universal units worldwide, practitioners have shared their experiences with the infection control solution. One of them is dental assistant Manuela Wimmer. She shares her story with DAC Universal and her favorite features.

What first convinced you about DAC Universal?

WIMMER: A key advantage from the very start was the fact that DAC Universal does not require chemical cleaning agents but uses only demineralized water for the reprocessing of medical instruments.

A huge benefit for us is also that we save time and costs. With the latest update, in only about 15 minutes (with DAC Universal D) we can reprocess up to six instruments so that they are available again sooner for the next treatment. This means we need to buy fewer handpieces and contra-angles.

What features of the latest upgrade to DAC Universal D make a difference in your daily routines?

WIMMER: The new touch display is perfectly easy to use thanks to its intuitive user interface. That is a real benefit because now every team member can use DAC Universal and we are more flexible in our routines. Since the guided Check & Clean maintenance workflow is fully automatic, there is less room for mistakes. The LAN interface allows for a direct connection to the practice’s software system. This enables seamless documentation, which is mandatory for infection prevention processes (with reference e.g. to §2 of the German MedBetreibV). What I also enjoy is the fact that the water tank is now easier to empty because it is placed at the front of DAC Universal.

What is your impression of the lid programs Blue and Green?

WIMMER: We use both and thus can reprocess a broad range of instruments with a hygienic standard that would be very difficult to reach with doing it by hand. With the Blue Lid program, we can clean rotating instruments such as turbines, handpieces, and contra-angles – instruments that need lubrication as the final step of the internal cleaning process. The Green Lid program we use for instruments that do not require lubrication: Ultrasonic and sonic handpieces and tips, nozzles of multifunction syringes, and powder jet devices and handpieces.

How do your patients value the hygienic concept of your practice?

WIMMER: These days our patients are very much aware of the topic. They ask about hygienic standards and I am glad that I can reassure them about our procedures, knowing that the reprocessing is safe regarding bacteria, viruses, or fungi, like SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus, HI virus and influenza. It also is reassuring for us as assistants to know that a safe working environment is a key priority for our employer.

Find out more about DAC Universal Infection Control Systems here:

https://www.dentsplysirona.com/en/explore/infection-control-systems/dac-universal.html

The availability of the product in the respective country depends on the approval.

¹ DAC Universal D: 15 minutes; DAC Universal S: 21 minutes

² A summary of the study can be made available by Dentsply Sirona upon request.

³ We recommend to run a regular maintenance every two years or 3000 cycles, depending on what is coming first.