Internal contamination of air-driven low-speed handpieces and attached prophy angles.
Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings – 2003. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Kohn, W.G., Collins, A.S., Cleveland, J.L., Harte, J.A., Eklunt, K.J., Malvitz, D.M.
Always follow the manufacturer’s DFU for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization instructions.ġ. Manufacturers must document appropriate reprocessing in their Directions for Use (DFU). Medical devices sold in the US are cleared by the FDA and that clearance involves reprocessing validation. The CDC states “multiple semi-critical dental devices that touch mucous membranes are attached to the air or waterlines of the dental unit 1.” The organization recommends clinicians “clean and heat-sterilize handpieces and other intraoral instruments that can be removed from the air and waterlines of dental units between patients 1” and “follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning, lubrication, and sterilization 1.” In addition, studies have shown that dental handpieces attached to air and water lines may become contaminated posing a risk for crossinfection 2,3.
DENTAL ASSISTANT INSTRUMENTS QUIZ SKIN
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dental handpieces are considered semicritical “Semicritical items touch mucous membranes or nonintact skin and have a lower risk of transmission because the majority of semicritical items in dentistry are heat-tolerant, they also should be sterilized by using heat 1.”