Decontamination methods used for dental burs - a comparative study

Effectiveness of the Glass Bead Sterilizer for Sterilizing Surgical Instruments

Survival rodent surgery requires the use of sterile instruments for each animal, which can be challenging when performing multiple surgeries on batches of animals. Glass bead sterilizers (GBS) are widely considered to facilitate this practice by sterilizing the tips of the instruments between animals. However, other disciplines have raised questions about the efficacy of the GBS, especially when used with surgical tools that have grooves or ridges that may contain organic debris. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the GBS to sterilize instruments commonly used in rodent surgery by intentionally contaminating a selection of instruments with a standardized bacterial broth inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. As expected, a simple ethanol wipe was ineffective in sterilizing instruments in all treatment groups. An ethanol wipe followed by GBS was effective in sterilizing 82.5% (99 of 120) of the instruments. Our study suggests that the GBS may not be effective for consistent sterilization of surgical instruments.

Comparing the disinfecting efficacy of pomegranate peel extract oil, Garlic oil, Tulsi leaf oil, and Clove leaf oil with standard autoclaving on dental round burs tested against Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study

Background

The study was conducted to compare and evaluate the disinfecting efficacy of four different herbal oils with standard autoclaving against Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis). Fifty round burs were infected with E. faecalis and dipped into the chemical test solution for 10 min. The disinfecting efficacy for each test chemical was checked using culture method on blood agar plate and peptone water test to check for turbidity. Clove leaf oil and Tulsi leaf oil have very good antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis which are similar and comparable to that of autoclaving.

Aim

This stusy aimed to compare the efficacy of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) oil, Garlic oil, Tulsi leaf oil, and Clove leaf oil with standard autoclaving on dental round burs tested against E. faecalis.

Settings and Design

The disinfecting capability of four different experimental oils against autoclave was evaluated on 50 round burs exposed to E faecalis in an In-vitro study.

Materials and Methods

A total of 50 round dental burs were exposed to E. faecalis and the disinfecting capability of four different experimental oils against autoclave was evaluated by counting colony-forming units (CFUs) and turbidity test.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0 (IBM), Chicago. The CFUs between the five groups (I, II, III, IV, V) were compared using the Chi-square test. The level of significance was kept at 5%.

Results

Clove leaf oil showed the best disinfection efficacy comparable to autoclaving, followed by Tulsi leaf oil with no statistically significant difference between them, whereas garlic oil and PPE oil were significantly less effective against E. faecalis.

Conclusion

Clove leaf oil and Tulsi leaf oil can be used for disinfecting dental burs, infected with E. faecalis, as alternatives to autoclaving.

Medical Waste Treatment Technologies for Energy, Fuels, and Materials Production: A Review

The importance of medical waste management has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the increase in medical waste quantity and the significant dangers of these highly infected wastes for human health and the environment. This innovative review focuses on the possibility of materials, gas/liquid/solid fuels, thermal energy, and electric power production from medical waste fractions. Appropriate and promising treatment/disposal technologies, such as (i) acid hydrolysis, (ii) acid/enzymatic hydrolysis, (iii) anaerobic digestion, (vi) autoclaving, (v) enzymatic oxidation, (vi) hydrothermal carbonization/treatment, (vii) incineration/steam heat recovery system, (viii) pyrolysis/Rankine cycle, (ix) rotary kiln treatment, (x) microwave/steam sterilization, (xi) plasma gasification/melting, (xii) sulfonation, (xiii) batch reactor thermal cracking, and (xiv) torrefaction, were investigated. The medical waste generation data were collected according to numerous researchers from various countries, and divided into gross medical waste and hazardous medical waste. Moreover, the medical wastes were separated into categories and types according to the international literature and the medical waste fractions’ percentages were estimated. The capability of the examined medical waste treatment technologies to produce energy, fuels, and materials, and eliminate the medical waste management problem, was very promising with regard to the near future.

Management of Instrument Sterilization Workflow in Endodontics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Endodontic treatment consists of different working procedures, such as the isolation of the operating field, pulp chamber access, and cleaning and shaping phases with at last the need of a three-dimensional filling of the canals. Each step requires a series of single-use or sterilizable instruments. We have performed a systematic review of different sterilization and disinfection procedures aiming at drawing up a disinfection and sterilization procedure to be used on endodontic instruments. A search on PubMed and Scopus was carried out using the following keywords: “endodontic sterilization,” “endodontic autoclave,” “decontamination dental bur,” “sterilization dental burs,” and “gutta-percha points sterilization.” Eligible articles were included in the qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results of the meta-analysis showed that the most effective method in sterilization is autoclaving. The qualitative analysis showed that the use of single-use or first-use instruments requires presterilization or sterilization procedures, and for reusable tools, attention must be paid to the removal of debris deposited on the blades, not easy to remove manually.