2019 Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 127-134
Several press reports on sterilization of dental handpieces and on dental unit waterlines have prompted the industry to review and renew the notion of how the infection prevention in dental practices should be.
This summary paper clarifies the concept of infection prevention based on existing guidelines and the administrative notifications issued. Also covered are the countermeasures of infection prevention adopted by manufacturers on such equipment as:
•Dental handpiece; where the mechanism of air-sucking phenomenon (“suck-back”), which often occurs with air turbine when it stops rotating, is explained while the solutions to it are also illustrated. Sterilization of handpieces using the autoclave is detailed here, too.
•Dental unit; where this paper covers the items ranging from the introduction of the water quality stipulation in Japan, the effectiveness and tips of “flushing” —analyzed using the data accumulated from the market research done by Japan Dental Machine Manufacturers Association— to the countermeasures offered by the manufacturers.
