ANSWERS

2 ND UNIT EXAM
DISCUSS IN DETAIL ABOUT
STERILIZATION
• Sterilization: Sterilization involves any process, physical or chemical that will destroy all forms
of life, including bacterial, fungi, spores and viruses.

• Disinfection: It is the process of using an agent that destroys germs or other harmful
microbes or inactivates them, usually referred to chemicals that kill the growing forms
(vegetative forms) but not the resistant spores of bacteria.
Steps of instrument processing
• Presoaking (Holding)
• Cleaning
• Corrosion control
• Packaging
• Sterilization
• Monitoring of sterilization
• Handling the processed instrument.
CLASSIFICATION OF INSTRUMENTS

• The center for disease control and prevention (CDC) classified the instrument into critical,
semicritical and noncritical depending on the potential risk of infection during the use of these
instruments. These categories are also referred to as Spaulding classification (by Spaulding in
1968).
• Critical : Where instruments enter or penetrate into sterile tissue, cavity or blood stream
• Semicritica : Which contact intact mucosa or nonintact skin
• Noncritical :Which contact intact skin
 METHODS OF STERILIZATION
CLASSIFICATION OF STERILIZING AGENTS
Physical agents: • Pasteurization
• Chemical agents: • Acridine
•

• Sunlight • Filtration • Alcohols • Aniline

•

• Drying • Candles
• • Ethanol
• • Phenols
• Cold • Membranes
• • Isopropyl alcohol
• • Cresol
•

• Dry heat • Asbestos pads

• • Aldehydes • Carbolic acid
•

• Flaming
• • Radiation • Formaldehyde
• • Metallic salts gases
• Incineration
• • Gluteraldehyde
• • Ethylene oxide
•

• Hot air oven

• • Halogens • Formaldehyde
•

• Moist heat • Iodine

• • Betapropiolactone
•

• Boiling
• • Chlorine
• • Surface active agents
• Steam under pressure
• • Dyes
Moist/Steam Heat Sterilization

• Autoclave: Autoclave provides the most efficient and reliable method of sterilization for all dental
instruments.

• It involves heating water to generate steam in a closed chamber resulting in moist heat that rapidly kills
microorganisms. Use of saturated steam under pressure is the most efficient, quickest, safest, effective
method of sterilization because: It has high penetrating power. It gives up a large amount of heat (latent
heat) to the surface with which it comes into contact and on which it condenses as water.

• Types of autoclaves: Two types of autoclaves are available:

1. Downward (gravitation) displacement sterilizer: This is nonvacuum type autoclave.

2. Steam sterilizers (autoclave) with pre and post vacuum processes.

Three main factors required for effective autoclaving:

1. Pressure: It is expressed in terms of psi or kPa.

2. Temperature: For effective sterilization the temperature should be reached and maintained at 121°C.
As the temperature and pressure increases, superheated steam is formed. This steam is lighter than air,
thus rises
to the upper portion of the autoclave. As more steam is formed, it eliminates air from autoclave. The
reason
of complete elimination of air is to help superheated steam to penetrate the entire load in the autoclave
and
remain in contact for the appropriate length of time.
3. Time: A minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of time is required after achieving full temperature and pressure.
Significance: Higher the temperature and pressure, shorter is the time required for sterilization.
• At 15 psi pressure, the temperature of 121°, the time required is 15 minutes
• At 126°C, time is 10 minutes
• At 134°C, time is 3 minutes.