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Is
your facility compliant with State or Federal laws? Is your
facility compliant with industry standards as recommended by the
CDC, AAMI, AORN, ADA, OSAP, and the Joint Commission? Are you
following best practice recommendations? (Some are quoted below
with their cross references).
Guidelines can be
viewed at:
DENTAL REGULATIONS
MEDICAL REGULATIONS
TATTOO & BODY PIERCING
REGULATIONS
The CDC
(Center for Disease Control and
Prevention)
www.cdc.gov
Recommended Infection-Control Practices for Dentistry, 1993.
“Proper functioning of sterilization cycles should be verified by
the periodic use (at least weekly) of biological indicators (i.e.
spore tests). Heat sensitive chemical indicators (e.g. those that
change color after exposure to heat) alone do not ensure adequacy of
a sterilization cycle but may be used on the outside of each pack to
identify packs that have been processed through the heating cycle.
A simple and inexpensive method to confirm heat penetration to all
instruments during each cycle is the use of a chemical indicator
inside and in the center of either a load of unwrapped instruments
or in each multiple instrument pack; this procedure is recommended
for use in all dental practices. Instructions provided by the
manufacturers of medical/dental instruments and sterilization
devices should be followed closely.”
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
41(RR-8), May 28, 1993
ADA
(American Dental Association)
www.ada.org
“This report is based on the recommendations of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (see the CDC recommendations above)
and other publications in the medical and dental literature. The
recommendations in this document have been accepted by the Council
on Scientific Affairs and the Council on Dental Practice. The
Councils strongly urge practitioners and dental laboratories to
comply with these infection control practices…Since this document is
not intended to cover every aspect of infection control compliance,
the dentist, his or her staff and that of dental laboratories should
refer to the referenced publications.”
Infection
Control Recommendations for the Dental Office and the Dental
Laboratory
ANSI / AAMI
(American National Standards Institute Inc. / Association for the
Advancement of Medical Instrumentation)
www.aami.org
“Biological indicators should be used within PCDs for routine
sterilizer efficacy monitoring at least weekly, but preferably every
day that the sterilizer is in use.” ANSI/AAMI ST79:2006,
Section 10.5.3.2
AORN
(Association of Perioperative
Registered Nurses)
www.aorn.org
“For routine
monitoring should be used weekly, and as needed; each load of
implantables.”
Recommended Practices, Sterilization & Disinfection,
1987
OSAP (Organization for Safety & Asepsis
Procedures)
www.osap.org
“The use and functioning of heat sterilizers should be biologically
monitored at least weekly, or more often if the practice demands it,
with appropriate spore tests.” Infection Control in Dentistry
Guidelines, September 1997
VA
(Veteran’s Administration)
“…must be sterilizer monitored no less than weekly, each load of
implantables or intravascular materials, following major sterilizer
repairs, new products or packaging material.” VA Manual G1,
MP-2, Sub-chapter E, Change 159, June 22, 1083
AAP
(American Academy of Pediatrics)
www.aap.org
Biological indicators are necessary to ensure sterility. A variety
of indicator systems are available. The procedure recommended by
the manufacturer to document sterility should be done at least
weekly and results should be recorded.” (from June 2000 Policy
Statement)
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