Cleaning methods for dental instruments.

It is essential to ensure that reusable dental instruments are scrupulously clean as a first step in the decontamination process. Any residual soil on the surface of equipment creates a risk that will prevent steam, generated during sterilisation, from condensing on the surface of the instrument and raising the temperature to that required to ensure sterilisation. Further, most microorganisms will struggle to attach to the surface of a clean instrument.