Warren Dentist Demonstrates Instrument Sterilization

Dr. Apsey: Hi, I’m Doctor Greg Apsy here in Warren, Michigan. You can find me on the web at DrApseydds.com.

This is Natasha, my assistant. You might have seen her in other videos. We are now in our sterilization room and this is where instrument cleanup happens. And I’d like to just give you an idea of what we do with the instruments that we use on you in the treatment room, and what is the process for making sure that instruments that are dirty to start, come out perfectly clean in the end. It’s a sterilization process so Natasha’s going to demonstrate what we do.

Dental Assistant: Okay, hello. Here is the tray from the room after treatment. And we set out all the dirty instruments right here. We throw away sharp things.

Dr. Apsey: So sharps go into a sharps container which is disposed of to a facility that handles sharps safely. Then all instruments are put into the ultrasonic and cleaned. First of all, some are.

Dental Assistant: Yeah. Some we brush first.

Dr. Apsey: So surgical instruments that are dirty after a procedure are cleaned under water. The idea being that when the instruments go, when we start the work with the instruments in your mouth, not only are they sterile but they also need to be cleaned of debris. So that’s why they have to be scrubbed first, prior to going through the sterilization process.
Okay. So now the ultrasonic goes on. Hand pieces, the drills that we used, they need to be cleaned and lubricated every time, because we’re sterilizing them, every time they get used, and if they’re not properly handled they will fail very rapidly.
But it’s why some officer don’t sterilize their hand pieces and they wipe them down, because the hand pieces break down more rapidly if they’re autoclaved.

Dental Assistant: This goes into the autoclave and when it is sterile, the color changes to pink.

Dr. Apsey: The color changes. That’s one way we know that the instruments are sterile. They go into the autoclave and so through the day that autoclave is building up is filling up with instruments. At the time that we run the autoclove, the plastic is removed and the tray is disinfected with the disinfectant spray and we put up to dry or to drain. And later it will be recovered with plastic.
Dental Assistant: Okay. Of course we keep it longer but now to show you.

Dr. Apsey: So then the instruments are individually packaged. And then sterilized in the autoclave.
This is one reason Dentistry is as expensive as it is, because everything has to be treated properly and all of that packaging, all of that plastic, all of the work that’s done between patients to keep everything clean, it adds up. It’s all costly, in time and in money for all of these packages.
Now we have 2 types of autoclaves. One is an autoclave that takes a bit longer. We put our packed instruments in there. But if we need something quickly and if we’re running low on instruments and we need something fast, we have a statum, which is a different type of autoclave on the bottom. And we can sterilize instruments unwrapped in a matter of 3 minutes. How long is the cycle?
Dental Assistant: Just 12 minutes. Just for sterilizing. But it’s few more for the cold..

Dr. Apsey: It fills, and then it has to empty out.

Dental Assistant: Total of about 35 minutes.

Dr. Apsey: Right. So, you fill this through the day. And then, when it’s full and ready…

Dental Assistant: No, we run it as much as possible.

Dr. Apsey: No, I know.

Dental Assistant: Depends how many instruments we have.

Dr. Apsey: Right. Now, one thing that is very important is that, this equipment needs to be tested. So, every 2 weeks, we run through the autoclave, a spore strip, and Natasha’s going to show you those. So we work with the University of Detroit. There’s a lab at the University of Detroit. So what we do is is we test both of our autoclaves twice a month.
Basically what we do is we place this strip in the middle of a full load. And we’d run the cycle. There are living organisms on that strip, so they have to all be killed.
That’s tested at the lab to be sure that the autoclaves are running properly, and this way, we feel comfortable that our patient’s are getting, making sure that their instruments are sterile and clean. So thanks, Natasha.

Dental Assistant: You’re welcome.

Dr. Apsey: For doing such a good job, today and always.

Dental Assistant: Come over in our office. You will be safe. Promise.

Dr. Apsey: It’s a good place to have your dentistry done. Nice and clean. Thanks for listening.