It’s Rochelle here from Dental Assisting & Beyond, back in your inbox with another bite-sized tip to help your team stay safe, compliant, and confident.
This week’s tip comes from a slightly different perspective — over the past few weeks I’ve been a dental patient, and seeing things from the other side of the chair has highlighted something important that we often don’t notice in the rush of a busy clinic day.
When turnaround times are tight and we’re quickly wiping down rooms for the next patient, I’ve noticed a common habit creeping in.
Disinfectant wipes not being left to air dry long enough, and surfaces being dried with a paper towel to speed things up.
While this is always done with good intentions, it’s a compliance risk. Most detergents and disinfectants require a specific contact time on surfaces to work effectively — and when we dry them too soon, we’re not allowing them to do their job properly.
So this week, we’re taking a moment to re-evaluate our wipe-down processes, the products we’re using, and how we can work together as a team to make small changes that support infection control without slowing the clinic down.
This Week's Tip: Contact Time
After wiping the chair and surfaces, the disinfectant is not air-drying quickly enough, so a paper towel is used to dry off the residue.
🚫 This is a big no-no.
Here’s why it matters:
Most detergents and disinfectants require a specific contact time on the surface to work effectively.
When we wipe surfaces dry too early — even with good intentions — we are reducing the disinfectant’s effectiveness and potentially compromising infection control.
🔍 So what can we do?
This is not about blame — it’s about re-evaluating and improving together.
- Are the wipes you’re using appropriate for your workflow?
- Do they have a contact time that realistically fits a busy schedule?
- Is it worth trialling a different brand or product?
- Can the team have a shared understanding so this doesn’t keep happening under pressure?
Small adjustments here can make a huge difference to compliance, safety, and confidence.
A very special celebration 🎉
Finally, I wanted to share some personal news.
I was incredibly honoured to be awarded Australian Dental Nurse of the Year 2025 — recognising my work in education, support staff development, and team building.
It was a wonderful night of celebration, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has supported me and Dental Assisting & Beyond along the way.
Thank you for being part of this community.
I’m looking forward to welcoming more of you into the DAB Academy and our mini courses in the year ahead.
Wishing you and your teams a beautiful and restful holiday season.
Stay compliant. Stay confident.
Rochelle Fisher
Dental Assisting & Beyond and Amalgamate Consulting
2026: Important Updates
As Dental Assisting & Beyond continues to grow, a few things are evolving:
- Tip of the Week will move to a fortnightly format
This allows me to dedicate more energy to supporting Academy members and those inside our programs. - Pricing updates
Any quotes or offers from 2025 will not roll over into 2026.
With new content and program enhancements coming, pricing needs to reflect the value we’re delivering — so if you’re on the fence, now is the time to jump on at 2025 rates. - Resource upgrades
We’re refining and upgrading our resources to make them even more practical and informative. A small number will change as part of this process. - New bundled mini courses
We’ll be releasing a bundled mini-course option at a great introductory price — designed to give you accessible, high-value training while allowing us to continue building bigger and better programs for you.
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