Behind-the-Scenes Infection Prevention: Focusing on Clinical Surfaces and Instrument Processing

All dental healthcare providers need to ensure patient and worker safety by maintaining excellent standards with regard to cleaning and disinfecting treatment rooms and reprocessing critical instruments. Especially in this day and age of heightened infection control concerns, proper cleaning and disinfection protocols are critically important to prevent cross-contamination and maintain hygienic conditions. This article reviews infection prevention strategies in the dental office, beginning with treatment room cleaning and disinfection, which includes maintenance of various types of surfaces and the use of barrier protection, and continuing to the disinfection and sterilization of dental instruments. The article also discusses methods for validating the sterilization process and proper instrument storage.