Waterlooville firm 'saves' dental surgeries struggling with Covid-19 measures

Ultra Violet Dental Solutions, set up by Waterlooville firm PSI Technologies, is using technology to kill bacteria and viruses in surgeries within minutes.

The technology, known as Ultra Violet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI), is helping to ‘save’ dentists who were having to wait an hour between appointments whilst cleaning took place.

It means surgeries who were struggling with lengthy gaps in appointments - such as Clarendon Dental Practice in Southsea - are now able to see virtually as many patients as before the pandemic.

The technology, which has been deployed at Heathrow Airport and some hospitals in the UK, is more widely used on the continent.

The ultraviolet light works by penetrating the DNA of coronaviruses before killing it through radiation within 90 seconds.

James Devereux, managing director of PSI Technologies, a company that has produced ventilators for technology pioneer Dyson, said: ‘You turn on a small stainless steel machine and leave the room and within two minutes everything is clean.

‘The Ultraviolet light kills every germ making the surgery safe to use straight away. The coronavirus is quite a weak virus and once the light penetrates the surface of the virus it becomes ineffective.

‘It is medically proven - there has been thousands of medical papers on this.’

Mr Devereux said dental surgeries are particularly at disadvantage due to the type of work they do with procedures - known as Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) - potentially leaving coronavirus lingering in the air for up to three hours.

This has prompted the government to insist on one hour gaps - known as fallow times - between appointments so surgeries can clean and prevent the spread of the virus.

‘The government dictating fallow times is killing dental surgeries commercially,’ Mr Devereux said.

‘But this technology allows dentists to see a lot more patients than they have been able to.

‘We produced the technology for dentists because surgeries are high risk due to AGP and they already work with X-Rays.

‘Using the ultraviolet light is dangerous in the wrong hands - five minutes in the room with it can cause sunburn and bad eyesight for a few days.’

Mr Devereux said UVGI has been around for 100 years but has not been used much in the UK before due to it creating ozone - deemed a poisonous gas - as a by-product.

But with modern technology now eliminating ozone it makes using the technology safe to use.

It has led to dental practices in Birmingham, London and Essex using UVGI after snapping up the technology.

Skjalg Johnsen, who runs the Clarendon Dental Practice, said: ‘Before we had to clean the surgery and wait an hour between appointments - it was very difficult for us.

‘We were getting to the point where we didn’t know what to do. Patients were expecting to see us. It looked like we were going to have to work all hours to see everyone.

‘But the technology offered a way around the problem so we didn’t need to have one hour fallow times - it has saved us.

‘We put the machine on in two different positions to make sure it reaches all areas of the room.

‘After waiting outside for two minutes it is finished having killed all bacteria and viruses.’

He added: It has been scientifically proven for decades that ultraviolet light kills germs but the ozone gas has now been blocked out which is why it was not used before.

‘Even after Covid-19 I will keep using it because it keeps my staff and patients safe.’

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