UV Dent Case: Portable UV-C Sterilization for Dental Instruments

This blog highlights a pioneering project led by Department of Periodontology, FDS SGT University.

In dental practice, ensuring the sterility of instruments between patient appointments is essential for patient safety and effective infection control. Autoclaves offer reliable sterilization, but each cycle typically takes 30 minutes or more, making it impractical to re-sterilize instruments between every patient. To work around this, many dental professionals store instruments in green pouches for 3 to 4 days. However, traditional storage methods like green pouches, plastic trays, and metallic trays lack disinfecting capabilities, leaving instruments exposed to harmful microorganisms for extended periods. This increases the risk of cross-contamination and compromises hygiene standards, posing serious risks to patient safety. For healthcare providers, these methods can compromise the standard of care, as patients deserve the highest level of hygiene and safety. In order to balance the need for efficiency with the highest level of hygiene in dental practices we have come up with UV Dentcase - A portable sterilization case.

UV Dent Case is designed to be portable, compact, and easy to use, the case leverages UV-C light technology to disinfect dental instruments quickly and efficiently. Unlike green pouches, which do not offer any sterilization, the UV Dent Case actively disinfects instruments between appointments, ensuring a higher level of patient safety. This portable case is capable of storing a wide range of dental tools, from mirrors to scalers, providing a safe and reliable solution to maintaining hygiene standards throughout the day.

What sets the UV Dent Case apart from traditional methods is its ability to provide continuous disinfection without the long waiting times associated with autoclaves. It allows for quick and efficient disinfection, ensuring instruments are safe and ready for use at all times. The UV Dent Case provides significant advantages for both dental professionals and their patients:

• Enhanced Patient Safety: The UV Dent Case ensures that dental instruments are disinfected between every use, reducing the risk of infection and cross-contamination, thus safeguarding patient health.
• Reduced Cross-Contamination: By actively preventing the accumulation of harmful bacteria and viruses and ensuring that instruments remain clean and safe between appointments..
• Convenient for Healthcare Professionals: The case is portable and easy to use, offering a convenient, quick sterilization option for busy dental practices. This helps maintain efficiency while upholding hygiene standards.
• Reliable Storage Solution: The UV Dent Case not only disinfects but also stores dental instruments securely, making it ideal for practices where re-sterilization isn’t always possible between patient appointments.

The UV Dent Case is a groundbreaking solution for dental instrument sterilization. Unlike any existing UV-operated sterilization solution, this portable case has been developed specifically for use in dental consultancy practices, addressing the challenges of frequent sterilization and safe instrument storage. By offering quick, continuous disinfection, the UV Dent Case ensures patient safety while allowing dental professionals to maintain high standards of hygiene without the downtime associated with autoclaves. As dental practices evolve, the UV Dent Case sets a new standard for infection control, offering a practical, reliable solution for healthcare providers and patients alike.

Project Team:

• PROJECT PI: Dr. Vidushi Sheokand
• PROJECT CO-PI: Dr. Shalini Kapoor, Dr. Amit Bhardwaj
• STUDENTS: Dr. Eshika Godara, Dr. Gunjan Aggarwal, Dr. Simran Bishnoi