Decontamination in primary care dental practices - Gov.uk

Decontamination: Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 – Decontamination in primary care dental practices (2013 edition)4 SterilizationGuidance on the installation, validation, maintenanceand testing of sterilizers can be found in Section 3.4.1 This chapter should be read in conjunction withSection 1.Types of sterilizer4.2 Saturated steam under pressure delivered at thehighest temperature compatible with the product isthe preferred method for the sterilization of mostinstruments used in the clinical setting.4.3 To facilitate sterilization, load items should firstbe thoroughly cleaned and disinfected (where awasher-disinfector has been used). In the case ofnewer machines, the parameters monitored for eachcycle will be stored and/or available as a print-outto provide a short-term record. The use ofautomated data-loggers or interfaced smallcomputer-based recording systems is acceptableprovided the records are kept securely and backedup.These records should be copied, as the qualityof the print-out fades over time. Manual recordingusing a logbook is also acceptable, and in any casewill be a necessity if a machine does not have anyautomatic print-out function (see paragraph 4.14for further details on manual recording). Therecord should, at minimum, document the absenceof a failure warning or the temperature/pressureachieved as appropriate to the indications provided.Records are required for every sterilization cycle. Itis recommended that records be maintained for notless than two years.4.4 It is likely that steam sterilizers used in dentalpractices will have a chamber volume of less than60 L and thus be considered to be small deviceswithin the standards applied by national andinternational bodies.4.5 Standards describe three types of benchtop sterilizerused within the healthcare setting:• Type N: air removal in type N sterilizers isachieved by passive displacement with steam.They are non-vacuum sterilizers designed fornon-wrapped solid instruments.• Type B (vacuum): type B sterilizers incorporatea vacuum stage and are designed to reprocessload types such as hollow, air-retentive andpackaged loads. A number of different cyclesmay be provided. Each cycle should be fullyvalidated and used in accordance withinstructions provided by both the sterilizermanufacturer and the instrumentmanufacturer(s).Sterilization process data can be recorded by an automatic printer• Type S: these sterilizers are specially designed toreprocess specific load types. The manufacturerof the sterilizer will define exactly which load,or instrument, types are compatible. These22