Compliance and documentation

Who is responsible for what.

Plain-language guidance on the regulations that touch dental equipment: what the practice holds, what we deliver, and where a specialist is needed.

Maintenance records you can actually use.

We record what was inspected, what was done, what needs attention and what is due next. Where a separate statutory examination, validation or specialist service is required, we identify it clearly.

Where legislation places a duty on the practice, that duty stays with the practice. What we provide is the evidence and organisation behind it: asset-linked service records, due dates, and a clear line showing which items sit with a specialist.

Things that are not the same

Servicing is not Validation
Servicing keeps equipment working; validation proves a process achieves a result, by someone competent to test it.
Routine maintenance is not Statutory examination
A compressor service is not an examination under a Written Scheme by a competent person.
Functional check is not Calibration
Confirming a light works is not calibrating a measuring instrument.
Service report is not Certificate
A report records work done and condition found; a certificate is issued under a specific competence.
Maintenance support is not Legal responsibility
We support the records; the registered provider holds the duty.

Reference

Regulations and standards that touch dental equipment

Each topic separates the provider's responsibility, what we deliver directly, what needs verified specialist competence, and what is outside our scope.

  1. Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 15 (Premises and equipment)CQC Regulation 15: premises and equipment Regulation 15 is the part of the CQC's fundamental standards that deals with the physical environment of care. It requires that premises and equipment... Last verified 9 September 2026
  2. Health and Social Care Act 2008; Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014Health and Social Care Act 2008: regulated activity and equipment The Health and Social Care Act 2008 created the Care Quality Commission and requires anyone carrying on a 'regulated activity' in England to be regist... Last verified 9 September 2026
  3. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2306)PUWER 1998: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations PUWER places duties on employers and others who control work equipment. 'Work equipment' is any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation... Last verified 9 September 2026
  4. Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/128)PSSR 2000: Pressure Systems Safety Regulations and dental compressors PSSR 2000 aims to prevent injury from the stored energy released when a pressure system fails. It applies to systems containing a 'relevant fluid', wh... Last verified 9 September 2026
  5. Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, Regulations 8 and 9 (written scheme of examination; examination in accordance with the written scheme)Written Schemes of Examination for dental compressors A written scheme of examination is a document that specifies which parts of a pressure system are to be examined, the nature of the examination and ho... Last verified 9 September 2026
  6. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/635)Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and dental equipment The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that electrical systems are constructed and maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonab... Last verified 9 September 2026
  7. Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices (NHS England, 2013 edition)HTM 01-05: decontamination equipment and maintenance HTM 01-05 is the guidance document that describes how decontamination of reusable dental instruments should be carried out in primary care dental prac... Last verified 9 September 2026
  8. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002; HSE Approved Code of Practice L8 (Legionnaires' disease: the control of legionella bacteria in water systems)Legionella and water-safety controls for dental unit waterlines Legionella bacteria can grow in water systems where water is stored or stagnant and temperatures sit between roughly 20°C and 45°C. Employers and thos... Last verified 9 September 2026
  9. Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/618), as amendedMedical Devices Regulations: servicing and manufacturer instructions In Great Britain, medical devices are regulated under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, enforced by the MHRA. A device placed on the market must c... Last verified 9 September 2026
  10. Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1075); Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1322)IRR17 and IR(ME)R: radiation equipment (outside Dynamo Dental's scope) Two sets of regulations govern dental X-ray equipment. The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17), enforced by the HSE, protect staff and the pu... Last verified 9 September 2026
  11. Regulation (EU) 2017/852 on mercury, Article 10 (retained in UK law); Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005; Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 (duty of care)Amalgam separators: maintenance and waste requirements Dental amalgam contains mercury. To stop it entering the sewer, dental facilities where amalgam is used or amalgam fillings are removed must be fitted... Last verified 9 September 2026
  12. Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulations 15 and 17; PUWER 1998; PSSR 2000; HTM 01-05Equipment maintenance records: what to keep and why No single regulation tells a dental practice exactly which equipment records to keep. Several require records for their own purposes: the CQC expects... Last verified 9 September 2026
  13. Terms used across HTM 01-05, PSSR 2000, PUWER 1998 and manufacturer documentationValidation, calibration and servicing: what each word means Servicing, validation, calibration, statutory examination and functional checks are different activities, carried out by different people and producin... Last verified 9 September 2026

Not sure what records you should have?

Tell us what equipment you have and what you hold. If a baseline would help, the Practice Engineering Survey records what exists and what is missing.