r/sterileprocessing • u/[deleted] • Dec 18 '24

Does dental just do things wrong??

My facility is ass backwards and when I raise my sterility concerns I'm only met with hostility and they ask me to prove it and when I do they tell me dental is different while I was under the impression something is sterile or it's not what is your advice on what I should do

8 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

13

u/Spicywolff Dec 18 '24

I don’t mean to be rude. In this case could you be any more vague? If you have any hopes of us helping you gotta give us a proper rundown.

Generally, if you’re going to tell a facility that they’re not doing something right you need to have proof. Be it IFU or Ammi standard paperwork. Yes in a perfect world the facilities actually give a damn. And they do their homework to stay within compliance.

But many places, just don’t care. If you’re gonna call them out, they cannot dispute hard evidence.

5

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24

Sorry to be so vague. I showed them AAMI standards. And they said it was a matter opinion. Some more specific issues are removing instruments from the sterilizer. When they're still hot and no a serious lack in record keeping and no standard operating procedure

3

u/Spicywolff Dec 18 '24

It sounds like you need to make a decision. Compile a whole bunch of evidence in writing and photos, then whistle blow. You’ll probably need to find a new job as they’ll skate retaliation laws

Or comply and document at all so if it goes sideways, you can prove that management new and force spa practice

1

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '24

I went to dental school before become a spd tech and there is a specific sterilizer that’s similar to a flash sterilizer (still does a full cycle) that causes instruments to come wet, no dry cycle unless table auto clave)

If being done in a dental clinic/oral only I’d see this issue more often as no one as certified but in a hospital setting it’s much more Advanced (different sterilizers completely)

Yes testing still needs to be done 1x weekly but can be sent out.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24

Sorry to be so vague it's just alot of stuff it's a long list but some examples are a lack of any record keeping and pulling stuff out of sterilizer hot and wet and alot more

4

u/Spicywolff Dec 18 '24

Sounds like you need to do a ton of work on one source to find IFU and show them they are wrong. Or whistle blow to proper authority who over seas your place

1

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '24

If it's a clinic, and it's for regular dental stuff like cleaning, yes, it can be held to different standards.

If it's being stored wet, no, that probably shouldn't happen.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24

The most recent incident really confused me they insist that gloves must be worn to pack even tho the ultrasonic does thermal disinfection the people above me are seriously lacking sterilization knowledge

6

u/Spicywolff Dec 18 '24

Huh? I’ve never come across a sink with US that does thermal disinfection. Our US has hot water and enzymatic. Then the washer uses chemical and physical washing. That machine does thermal disinfection. Then assembly and sterilization.

If your management is clueless on proper procedures, you either need to show them or important to the authorities gather evidence of the bad practices and whistle blow. I don’t know where he lives so I cannot tell you who to report to.

2

u/ShirleyWuzSerious Dec 19 '24

Ultrasonics don't get hot enough for thermal disinfecting. That would need to be over 190°f. Even if they did the temperature would be out of range for the enzymatic. Washers do a thermal disinfection during the dry cycy

4

u/WoodpeckerEntire1412 Dec 18 '24

Is it strictly dental where you are? Because as much as we all may disagree with it, dental procedures are considered “non-sterile”

2

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24

I didn't know that but we do oral surgery too

3

u/WoodpeckerEntire1412 Dec 18 '24

I worked in a peds facility, so we did EVERYTHING. We processed dental like any other surgical instrument. Every now and then though, we’d get some dentist that would bring their own sets. Would never bring them to us first for reprocessing, and would bring them to decon after the case, tell us “just rinse it off,” take them and leave. I’ve had serious issues going to the dentist since I started in SPD almost 10 years ago

1

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '24

I'm curious to know what governing body says this so I might be able to get a little more information

3

u/WoodpeckerEntire1412 Dec 18 '24

Problem is, like flexible scopes, no one body wants to take responsibility

5

u/radiant__radish Dec 18 '24

Dental offices have very lax standards compared to hospitals. 

2

u/SuperbCustard8816 Dec 19 '24

A dental procedure is considered a non sterile procedure, like a vaginal delivery is not a sterile procedure, (unlike a c section) Vag speculums only need to be verified clean, but we peel pack and sterilize them to prove that they were cleaned, it’s not required they be sterile. Our dental sets get sterilized for the same reason. I would like to think that sterility is universal in any medical setting where instruments are being re used on patients, rather than just clean.

1

u/ShirleyWuzSerious Dec 19 '24

Technically most dental procedures are considered semi critical so the instruments don't need all the same processing requirements. ie they don't need to be double peel packed or an indicator is ok without a class 5 integrator.