Dental Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dental, including details on implants, health, hygiene, cosmetic, dentistry. | ||||||||
|
Cleanability of dental instruments--implications of residual protein and risks from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.Walker JT, Dickinson J, Sutton JM, Raven ND, Marsh PD HPA Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Porton Down, Salisbury, SP4 0JG. jimmy.walker@hpa.org.uk Cleaning of dental instruments is the first line of control in reducing the adherent bioburden. The threat of vCJD and the difficulty in removing prion protein has provided a new challenge for cleaning surgical and dental instruments. Prion proteins are also more resistant to many disinfection and sterilisation techniques. A number of different methods are currently available in primary care for cleaning instruments including manual washing, ultrasonic cleaners and washer disinfectors. Manual cleaning of dental instruments is time-consuming, introduces operator error and the risk of puncture wounds, is not reproducible and does not completely remove debris from instruments. Ultrasonic baths are significantly more effective than hand cleaning alone and are currently used by the majority of dental surgeries (often as an adjunct to manual cleaning). Automated washer-disinfectors appear to provide a validated, reliable and reproducible procedure for disinfection and sterilisation of dental instruments to ensure both the safety of patients and dental staff. Dental instruments that are difficult to clean are frequently contaminated with tissue debris after routine reprocessing and cannot be excluded as a potential transmission risk for infectious agents, including prions. The transmission of vCJD via dentistry is considered to be low risk, however, the Department of Health (DoH) has recently advised dentists to ensure that endodontic reamers and files are treated as single-use as a precautionary basis in order to further reduce any risk of vCJD transmission. Published 15 October 2007 in Br Dent J, 203(7): 395-401.
© 2004-2008 Dental Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
| ||||||
