Page 19 - Compendium Chapters for Course 1 (IC, DPA, OSHA)

Remember, the goal of sterilization is microbial kill (the killing of disease causing, or pathogenic, microorganisms). Microbial kill allows for all contaminants to be killed including spores that carry disease and are not killed by traditional disinfectants.
Microbial kill requires three specific environments to occur at once: ü Time
ü Heat
ü Pressure
In order to achieve sterilization, and microbial kill, is by the use of a mechanical autoclave device, dry heat device, or chemical vapor device.
AUTOCLAVE
Autoclaves use saturated steam at a temperature of 121° C or 250° F to create sterile conditions. The microbes are killed when their proteins are denatured. The 121° C temperature is higher than what can be achieved by boiling a pan of water on the stove. The laws of physics dictate that water at 100° C (212° F) at sea level will produce steam. The only way to raise the temperature of steam is to allow the steam to build pressure. The chamber of an autoclave is strong and allows the steam to build pressure. As a result of the pressure, the temperature increases to 121° C. Once this temperature is reached, most manufacturers of autoclaves recommend a 15-minute exposure of instruments. The time should be extended to 20 or more minutes if the autoclave contains a large mass of instruments.
The autoclave has proven to be a very effective and rapid means of sterilizing dental instruments. A drawback to the use of the autoclave is that the steam may react with metal instrument surfaces causing discoloration and dulling the cutting surfaces. Autoclaved items may also retain water from condensation of the steam. In addition to the traditional autoclave, effective high-temperature autoclaves are available that operate at 132° C (270° F). Because of the increased temperature, the recommended cycle time is reduced to between four and eight minutes – this is commonly referred to as flash sterilization and is not a recognized method of sterilization in California. Although flash sterilization is much quicker than conventional autoclave settings, the dental assistant may find greater rates of instrument corrosion.
Remember: The sterilization-times indicated for machines are for the sterilization portion of a cycle only and do not include the time to heat the unit to the desired temperature or the time for the unit to reduce the internal temperatures to a safe level at the end of a run as part of the sterilizing time. Instrument packages and cassettes should be completely dried before removing them from the sterilizer.
Intro Page - 19
Introductory Chapter: Dental Practice Act, Infection Control and Cal-OSHA
The California RDAEF: A Compendium for Licensure Success © The Foundation for Allied Dental Education, Inc. 2016 Copyright protected. All rights reserved