Disinfection and sterilization of composite polishing instruments

Area of Science:

• Dental materials science
• Infection control in dentistry
• Instrument reprocessing

Background:

• Composite finishing and polishing instruments require effective sterilization and disinfection.
• Maintaining instrument integrity during reprocessing is crucial for patient safety.
• Various chemical and physical methods exist for dental instrument reprocessing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of multiple sterilization and disinfection techniques.
• To evaluate these methods on two distinct composite finishing and polishing instruments.

Main Methods:

• Tested instruments: proprietary light-cured resin cup (abrasive-impregnated) and silicon dioxide-impregnated rubber cup.
• Evaluated chemical methods: iodophor, synthetic phenol, glutaraldehyde.
• Evaluated physical methods: microwaving, autoclaving, and chemiclaving.

Main Results:

• Glutaraldehyde demonstrated effectiveness as a disinfectant.
• Other cold chemical disinfectants showed unreliable performance.
• Autoclaving, chemiclaving, and microwaving proved effective for sterilization.

Conclusions:

• Physical sterilization methods (autoclaving, chemiclaving, microwaving) are reliable for composite finishing instruments.
• Cold chemical disinfectants require careful consideration due to variable efficacy.
• Proper instrument reprocessing is vital for preventing cross-contamination in dental settings.