Ask the Editors
Infection Control
- Is there something better than a spray for disinfection of alginate impressions prior to pouring them so I can feel more confident that the entire impression has been disinfected?
- Regarding scrubs in the dental office, do they have to be long-sleeved, and do they have to be washed in the office?
- As far as cleaning and disinfecting the operatory, what tips and suggestions do you have to make it efficient, yet effective?
- What are fundamental principals for practicing proper infection control in a dental office?
- What are some of the common errors that can lead to sterilization failure?
- What are the basic differences among the variety of chemical indicators available for use in heat sterilization?
- What are the requirements for sterilization monitoring?
- What factors should we consider if we switch our practice to using cassettes as containers for our instruments?
- Do you have recommendations on cold sterilization?
- How applicable is cold sterilization in current dental infection control?
- How different are fast sterilizers from the autoclave I have used for over 15 years, and what are the advantages of faster and better?
- Why are these incidents regarding the spread of infectious disease in health care settings occurring and are they limited to healthcare?
- We are thinking about switching our practice to using cassettes as containers for our instruments; what factors should we consider as we discuss this major step?
- What are some of the common errors that can lead to sterilization failure?
- What are the basic differences among the variety of chemical indicators available for use in heat sterilization?
- What is the ideal amount of time that instruments should stay in an ultrasonic unit with settings of 6, 12, 20, 30 and 60 minutes?
- Should a disinfectant be used as a holding solution?
- There are numerous barriers, sprays, and wipes available for accomplishing effective environmental surface infection control. What are some of the mistakes that can occur, thereby compromising the effectiveness of the procedures used to accomplish surface asepsis?
- Does environmental surface infection control consider all surfaces as equal, and must they be treated the same between patient appointments?
- What is the difference between sterilization and disinfection?
- What needle-recapping devices are acceptable?
- I was taught in school to use a “cold sterilization” solution for reprocessing certain instruments. I see that this practice is not recommended in recent infection control guidelines. What is different today from years ago?
- What are the most common reasons for sterilization failure using a heat sterilizer?
- What is the difference between the various types of chemical indicators for heat sterilization?
- Do my prescription glasses provide sufficient protection when treating patients?
- Why is the destruction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis required by the EPA as the benchmark for classification of a disinfectant as an intermediate-level disinfectant?
- I am about to buy a new sterilizer. What is the difference between the traditional autoclave and the Class B autoclave?
- What are disinfectants that you recommend to be used in the dental office and why do you recommend them?