Heat Recovery Ventilation System for Dental Practice
At a glance
- Company
- Brunswick Dental
- Product
- Industry
- Hospital
Brunswick Dental Practice provide family, implant and cosmetic dentistry procedures to patients in Bangor, Ards and Greater Belfast areas. In response to Public Health Guidance, a BEAM Heat Recovery Ventilation System was installed to provide the required clean indoor air solution for the practice.
Ventilation Systems for Dental Practices
Like many Dental practices in the past 2 years, Covid-19 has impacted the general day-to-day operations of the business and forced changes to standard practice. Due to Covid-19, Dental practices, much like other medical professions, have had to maintain exacting standards of cleanliness. As part of this, the World Health Organisation in their research has advised such practices to be vigilant in taking precautions against airborne viruses.*
Dental surgeries have an increased risk of spreading airborne viruses as they deal with AGPs – Aerosol Generating Procedures. This is created with the use of drills, polishing equipment etc. According to the UK Health Security Agency, “Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) should not be carried out in rooms where there is no natural or mechanical ventilation.” As a result of the findings, the regulations for ventilation requirements in Dental Practices concluded that sufficient ventilation can be achieved by increasing air changes per hour.**
With this information, the team at Brunswick Dental deemed it necessary to install a Mechanical Ventilation System and contacted BEAM for expert advice on a suitable solution.
Energy Efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation provides comfort and safety for patients
After an initial survey from BEAM, it was confirmed that simple extract fans would not be suitable for several reasons. This system would only extract moist, stale air and would not supply fresh, filtered air. It also would have drained the rooms of heat. It was determined that a Heat Recovery Ventilation System (MVHR) was the necessary solution.
Four BEAM AXCO C170 Heat Recovery Ventilation (MVHR) units were installed in the roof space. They now supply fresh filtered air into 3 surgery rooms and the reception areas. The system is designed to deliver 10 air changes per hour and offers airflow of up to 194 litres per second on a continuous running setting. What is specific about this system is that extracted air and filtered incoming air pass by each other, never touching and thus preventing the spread of contaminated air particles. To meet the regulations, it was important in this close contact profession that virus spreading through aerosol transmission was reduced.
For Brunswick Dental, the system has allowed for continuous fresh, filtered air 24 hours a day. With the constant and high air change rate, the practice has reduced fallow time to 10-15 minutes. This has allowed for all low, medium and high-risk patients to be cared for in a safe environment. Without this system in place the practice would have to allow for extended downtime, proving ineffective for long-term patient care.
This Heat Recovery Ventilation System provides continual ventilation, allowing users to reduce ventilation speed for out-of-office hours whilst still being able to ventilate the building during the night, ready for the next day. This approach was needed so the business could continue to provide necessary care to patients during restricted times but in a safe manner.
“A Heat Recovery Ventilation System is the most efficient, healthy way to achieve such a high air change within commercial dwellings.”
Mark Chesney
BEAM Installation Manager
Brunswick Dental Branch Manager Fiona commented on how the upgraded ventilation system has had a positive impact on their capacity and indoor air quality:
“For all our staff and patients, it was vital that we took steps to ensure their safety whilst in our practice. We maintain a high standard of care and cleanliness and following guidelines during the pandemic was top priority. BEAM did a fantastic job from explaining the workings of the system to the installation work. We have continued to work and are confident the ventilation system will provide us with fresh, filtered indoor air, for the comfort and safety of all our patients.”
Fiona
Branch Manager, Brunswick Dental
For more information and expert advice on a suitable Mechanical Ventilation System for your dental practice, email info@beamcentralsystems.com or call us on +44 (0)28 7963 2424.