Sterilization and Disinfection

 

Sterilization and Disinfection

The increase in the number of transmissible diseases has led to a global concern. Dentistry is involved in treatment that includes contact with blood, mucosa, or blood-contaminated saliva. In some of the highly infectious diseases like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, Tuberculosis, H1N1, COVID-19 (coronavirus), etc transmission can be stopped by using proper infection control measures. We at Karol Children`s Hospital use multiple steps for disinfection and sterilization of our instruments which makes them extremely secured, reliable and effective against transmission of deadly micro-organisms responsible for causing HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, H1N1, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), etc.

1) The first step is the cleaning of instruments with soap and water to remove debris and organic contaminants from instruments which always done before sterilization and disinfection. The instruments are first washed in tap water, scrubbed with soap and we use automated cleaning equipment (ultrasonic cleaner) to remove debris and thus improves cleaning efficacy.

2) The second step is the immersion of instruments in disinfectant solution for cold sterilization and then instruments are washed with distilled water and dried completely and packed in pouches with internal chemical indicators, using a professional sealing machine. At Karol Children`s Hospital we use various enzyme based and chemical based disinfectants for cold sterilization.

3) The third step is the sterilization of packed instruments under steam pressure autoclave.

Autoclaving

The packaged instruments are ready for final sterilization in autoclave. The autoclaved sealed pouches of instruments are open in front of the patients when needed. We use UNICLAVE C-79 N class autoclave( which is automatic front loading autoclave) for sterilization. It is a state of the art autoclave and is highly reliable in function. Chemical indicators used during sterilization ensures proper sterilization as per specifications, by color changes.

 

Chair Disinfection

At Karol Children`s Hospital, we use surface disinfectant spray containing Propanol, Ethanol, Benzalkonium Chloride, and Gulataraldehyde for disinfection of dental chairs and other hard surfaces. This surface disinfectant has wide spectrum of virucidal, bactericidal, and fungicidal action.