Cleaning methods for dental instruments

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Aim

Objective

This article meets GDC development outcomes C.

As the first step in the decontamination process of reusable surgical instruments, handpieces and medical devices, it is essential that instruments are meticulously cleaned to minimise the risk of transmission of infectious agents and provide the basis for practices to comply with essential quality standards.

Any residual soil on the surface of equipment creates a risk that will prevent steam, generated during sterilisation, from condensing on the surface of the instrument and raising the temperature to that required to ensure sterilisation.¹ This not only compromises safety but can also cause corrosion of instruments or impair their function and might lead to the transmission of infection from one patient to another.²