Sterilization

Like any other medical procedure, dentistry requires strict adherence to certain cleanliness guidelines in order to prevent infections. The process of keeping instruments clean and disposing of potential infection sources is known as dental sterilization. All dentists, hygienists, and assistants receive training in dental sterilization and infection prevention as part of their professional education. An office that maintains good infection control procedures limits the risk of illness and infection in its patients.

So what is dental sterilization and why is sterilization important in dentistry? To answer the first part of that question, dental sterilization kills all forms of microbial life on an instrument. While many instruments can be thrown out immediately after use, some tools require reuse and thus need regular sterilization. Because these tools come into contact with the human mouth, which is itself a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria, dental sterilization is necessary to ensure that germs from one person’s mouth don’t transfer to another’s. By killing all microbial life on an instrument, the dentist or hygienist ensures that the risk of infection from patient to patient is as close to zero as possible.

Do dentists reuse tools? The answer is yes, but only with some tools. Dentists follow the guidelines presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which breaks tools into three major categories. Critical instruments such as scalpels and scalers make contact with soft tissue and bone. Semi-critical instruments such as mouth mirrors and impression trays make contact with oral tissue but don’t penetrate that tissue. Finally, non-critical instruments make contact with intact skin rather than tissue or bone. Both critical and semi-critical instruments must be fully sterilized between uses. Noncritical tools do not need sterilization but still get disinfected to minimize infection risk.

How often do dentists sterilize their equipment?

A dental office that follows standard safety procedures makes sure that whatever tools they use in your mouth are completely sterilized and have not been used on another patient prior to sterilization. The sterilization process includes a thorough cleaning to eliminate most bacteria first. The dental sterilization process then utilizes heat to kill the remaining microorganisms. This could include steam sterilization, the use of ethylene oxide gas, or dry heat sterilization. Regardless of the specific method, the process raises the temperature of the instrument to a hot enough level that all microbial organisms die. Instruments that might get damaged by this process are sterilized by soaking them in a bacteria-killing chemical, then rinsing them with sterile water.