Problems with the decontamination of dental handpieces and other intra-oral dental equipment in hospitals

Dental departments within district general hospitals contain items of equipment that require decontamination between patients. Some of these items are complex and expensive, and in busy clinics, may be required in large numbers if a sterile services department (SSD) were to be used. This may result...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of hospital infection 2004, Vol.56 (1), p.1-5
Main Authors: Weightman, N.C, Lines, L.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Decontamination
Decontamination - methods
Dental Equipment - microbiology
Dental instruments
Hospitals
Humans
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Sterilization - methods
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Description
Summary:Dental departments within district general hospitals contain items of equipment that require decontamination between patients. Some of these items are complex and expensive, and in busy clinics, may be required in large numbers if a sterile services department (SSD) were to be used. This may result in local manual cleaning of these instruments and sterilization in non-vacuum downward displacement autoclaves within dental departments, despite some items having narrow lumens, deep recesses and cavities, which will not adequately sterilize these instruments. Infection control teams should be aware of these difficulties particularly when arranging satisfactory infection control and decontamination procedures in hospital dental departments.
ISSN:0195-6701
1532-2939
DOI:10.1016/j.jhin.2003.09.006