If there was a "Cleanest Person in the World Award," dentists could definitely be candidates, because they don't just clean teeth. They also make sure everything in their office is clean and their instruments are sanitized -- as they should be.
Dentists and medical professionals are required to sterilize their instruments to protect both patients and practitioners from possible infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association (ADA) require specific heat sterilization processes for dental offices to follow.
The following are some recommended autoclave sterilizers used in dentistry:
Steam Autoclave Sterilizer -- This type of sterilizer commonly uses heated, vaporized water, or steam in layman's language, to sterilize. Autoclaves can also kill microorganisms with various other methods. Though steaming is the most popular method of sterilization used all over the world, it has a few disadvantages. Steam autoclave sterilizers can deteriorate some unprotected instruments.
Dry Heat Autoclave -- Because this uses dry heat, as its name implies, it is used for instruments that can be damaged by moisture.
Gas Autoclave -- Also known as chemiclaves, these sterilize with a vapor solution in low humidity. It requires less heat-up time and are generally used for instruments that may be damaged by heat such as plastic, rubber and fiber optic devices.
Cold Sterilization Autoclave -- This was developed for high-level disinfection using a cold sterilization liquid.
