DENTAL INSTRUMENT AND DEVICE STERILIZATION AND DISINFECTION PRACTICES

Dental instruments and devices require sterilization or high-level dis infection. An evaluation of the implementation of such processes was u ndertaken. Eleven thousand questionnaires on methods used to sterilize and disinfect dental instruments were sent to dental practices and 13 91 (13%) were returned for evaluation. Sixty-eight percent of responde nts believed they were sterilizing their instruments, however, some of the liquid chemical products used were not suitable for sterilizing i nstruments, and 12% of respondents used incorrect contact times. Forty -nine percent of respondents did not challenge autoclaves with biologi cal spores to check their function at an acceptable frequency. There w ere similar product and timing problems when a high-level liquid chemi cal disinfection was attempted. Although the return sample was small, problems were identified that can and should be corrected. This study demonstrates that the potential for person-to-person transmission of i nfectious agents such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and he patitis B and C viruses via inadequately sterilized dental instrument exists depending on the prevalence of HIV in the dental practice area.