Statement Addresses Handpiece Asepsis

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a statement to provide clear guidelines for reprocessing dental handpieces. The statement, available at CDC.gov, explains, “Guidelines for infection prevention state that, between patients, dental health care personnel should clean and heat-sterilize handpieces and other intraoral instruments that can be removed from dental air- and waterlines.” The recommendation is based on studies that show air-driven handpieces — both low speed and high speed — can become contaminated with material that can expelled into the next patient’s oral cavity during subsequent use. For further insights into sterilization protocols, see “Sterility Assurance in Dental Instrument Reprocessing.”

From Decisions in Dentistry. August 2018;4(8):10.