Dental Sterilization
Study:Only heat can kill HIV on dental tools. By the
Associated Press
A chemical disinfectant used on some medical and dental devices
can fail to kill the AIDS virus, posing a potential risk of
infecting patients, a study suggests.
Researchers found that in the laboratory, the disinfectant did
not kill the AIDS virus in blood lodged in lubricants commonly used
in dental equipment and in medical devices called endoscopes, which
are inserted into the body to allow an interior view.
None of the devices has ever been shown to be the cause of HIV
transmission from patient to patient, said researcher David Lewis,
a microbiologist at the University of Georgia in Athens.
HIV survived in germ killer. In the study, published by Lewis
and another researcher in the September issue of the journal Nature
Medicine, the AIDS virus survived after the contaminated lubricants
were soaked for two hours in a powerful germ killer called
glutaraldehyde.
Lewis said the study emphasizes the need to sterilize dental
equipment at extremely high temperatures, as recommended by the
federal government and the American Dental Association. He also
said the standards for decontaminating endoscopes should be
raised.
But Dr. David Fleisher, past president of the American Dental
Association said current decontaminating procedurs are "extremely
effective".
And, he said, the experiment failed to mimic all the steps of
the decontamination procedure used on gastrointestinal
endoscopes.
More than 90 percent of American dentists use heat
sterilization, said Chris Martin, a spokesman for the American
Dental Association.
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