BDA welcomes Scottish ruling on vacuum steriliser use

The British Dental Association (BDA) has welcomed a ruling by authorities in Scotland on the use of vacuum sterilisers in decontamination processes in dental practices.

A proposal that the devices should be made a required part of sterilisation in primary dental care has been rejected by the Scottish Health Technologies Group following a review of clinical evidence.

It was decided that introducing such a measure would not deliver an improvement in patient safety and would therefore not be worth the level of investment it would require.

Dr Robert Kinloch, chair of the BDA's Scottish dental practice committee, hailed the decision as a "common sense" move, saying it would be unnecessary to use NHS resources changing working practices for no clear benefit.

"We have explained our support for the principle that regulation should be proportionate and are pleased to see that it has been understood and applied in the making of this decision," he explained.

Earlier this month, the organisation urged the government not to abolish plans to create a national dental commissioning board, despite calls to do so from the House of Commons' health select committee.