ASSESSING VIRAL RETENTION - AND ELIMINATION IN ROTARY DENTAL INSTRUMENTS

The authors of this article used a laboratory model of herpes simplex virus infection to assess the potential for contamination of dental ha ndpieces by a human viral pathogen. They found that although all the h andpieces in the study were fitted with antiretraction valves, it was not until the units were flushed internally and disinfected externally that the pathogens were eliminated.