INSTRUMENT STERILIZATION

With all the media attention on dental office instrument sterilization the past several days, Sunningdale Dental wants to reassure our current and future patients that our sterilization techniques are of the highest standard. Our office is designed with an open concept so that the sterilization center is visually open for all patients to walk by and see that it is immaculate. Our instruments are kept in cassettes and each cassette goes through a Hydrim after the instruments are used.

A hydrim is an automated washing system, that cleans instruments before we sterilize them.  The advantages of automated washing systems over traditional manual cleaning are recognized by the Center for Disease Control and independent research and testing organizations. If it’s not clean, it can’t be sterilized.

Once the cassettes and instruments are washed, they are wrapped in autoclavable single use paper, sealed with special tape (that turns a different colour once it has been sterilized), and then loaded into the sterilizer.  Before the sterilizer is unloaded, it is carefully checked to ensure that the sterilization cycle was complete.  Once sterilized the cassettes are kept wrapped and in a special cupboard until we are ready to use them.

We preform spore testing on all our sterilizers once a day to ensure they are functioning properly. We maintain a log book of all spore testing samples completed.   We have written infection control protocols that are reviewed yearly and strictly adhered to.

Rest assured that Sunningdale Dental is a bit obsessive about keeping our equipment and instruments as clean and sterile as possible!