Infection Control

―The Prevention Method Elinination Cross Contamination of the Air Turbine Handpiece―

Abstract

  There is a potential risk of cross contamination in a dental clinic through air turbine handpiece system, since regular air turbine handpiece produce a small amout of air "suckback" whenever rotation of a handpiece stops. Perfect sterilization of a handpiece and a connected hose which may contain debris including bacteria and viruses, is necessary but neither easy nor being done routinely.

  This study was performed to evaluate the effectivness of an anti cross contamination device (AIR MEDICA^TM) for dental handpiece by using three bacterial strains. It was found that the use of AIR MEDICA efficiently reduces the contamintion level inside the handpiece and hoses to less than 0.04%.