The dental sterilisation room explained

What the room is for

Reusable dental instruments must be reprocessed before they're used on another patient. In Australia, reprocessing of reusable medical devices is covered by AS 5369:2023, which replaced AS/NZS 4187:2014. Dental practitioners work under the Dental Board of Australia's infection control guidelines, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care publishes advice for practices on meeting the reprocessing standard. Your practice sets out the exact steps for its own equipment.

One-way flow: dirty to clean

The room is laid out so instruments only move one way — from the dirty area where used instruments arrive, through cleaning and packaging, to the steriliser and clean storage. Sterile items never travel back past dirty ones.

The steps

1. Transport. Carry used instruments in a closed or covered container. Sharps and single-use items are disposed of chairside.
2. Cleaning. Remove all visible debris using a washer-disinfector, ultrasonic cleaner or manual cleaning, depending on the instrument and the manufacturer's instructions. Sterilisation doesn't work properly on instruments that aren't clean.
3. Inspection. Check under good light, often with magnification, for remaining debris, damage or corrosion. Re-clean or remove from service.
4. Packaging. Pack instruments that must be sterile at the point of use in suitable sterilisation pouches or wraps, with a chemical indicator.
5. Sterilisation. Load the steriliser as the manufacturer directs, without overloading, and run the right cycle.
6. Check and record. Check the cycle printout or data and the indicators, and record the result. A failed cycle means the load is not released.
7. Storage. Store packs in a clean, dry place, and check each pack is dry and intact before use.

Critical, semi-critical and non-critical

Items are grouped by risk. Critical items enter sterile tissue and must be sterile. Semi-critical items touch mucous membranes, such as the mouth, and need at least high-level disinfection, though in dental practice many are sterilised. Non-critical items touch only intact skin and are cleaned.

Protecting yourself

Wear heavy-duty gloves, eye protection, a mask and a fluid-resistant gown or apron when handling and cleaning used instruments. Never reach into an ultrasonic bath with your hands, and keep used sharps away from your fingers.

Learning your practice's system

Steriliser types, testing and tracking systems differ between practices. You'll be trained on your practice's equipment, and you shouldn't run or release a load until you've been signed off to do so.