Dental Hygiene Products for Asepsis and Sterilization

One of the three major areas in dental surgery is asepsis. Asepsis is prevalent in hospitals where patients are usually housed together in one room or area instead of isolating them, so there is less possibility of transferring bacteria from one patient to the next. This observation led to the development of aseptic techniques with the prefix “a” attached to sepsis to indicate absence of the condition. In simple terms, dental practitioners would like to make sure that there is less risk of transferring bacteria between several patients.

Simple Acts of Asepsis

As a child, we were always told to wash our hands before we take to the dining table. This should minimize invisible bacteria a child might have taken from playing with other kids outdoors or touching dirty stuff here and there. The same rule applies, all the more so if you are a dentist about to work on your patients.

Gloves are made disposable so that the dentist not only protects himself from possible contamination but also from passing the same to his patient. Dentists would usually tap the patient’s teeth or touch the gum portion which appears red and swollen and more. Before putting their hands inside the mouth, it is a must for a dentist to wear gloves first. After he’s done with this patient, the gloves automatically go to the trash bin for proper disposal.

Sterilization Techniques

Boiling water? Unfortunately, this simplest method no longer works because it can only kill a particular set of bacteria. The best sterilization technique nowadays is called autoclaving. Autoclaves are high pressurized equipment where all dental instruments which dentists will use inside a patient’s mouth are placed for proper sterilization before they are actually utilized. Be careful though and make sure that the instrument has cooled off before taking out the instruments from the autoclave itself.

There’s also cold sterilization where instruments are chemically treated. This is what is usually used to sterilize non-critical instruments such as impression trays and a few plastic instruments. Usually, these instruments are soaked in this chemical solution for a few hours and then stored appropriately in cabinets so that they’re ready to use when the treatment calls for it.

There are several more sterilization products available in the market, but the ones mentioned are those most commonly seen in dental offices. One goes to the dental office for treatment and consultations. It would be good to see that all these simple steps are followed so that the patient goes home healthy and pain-free.

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