Because most dental procedures performed in offices involve various blood and saliva-borne pathogens that can spread from one patient to another, dental associations require that dental clinics of all types must observe sanitation practices. Part of these sanitary practices is sterilization of dental tools such as mouth mirrors, detectors, excavators, pliers, elevators, burs, dental forceps, and dental scalers before they are used in a procedure. A cosmetic dentist in Orem Utah may use different sterilizers such as steam, radiation, liquid chemicals, chemical vapor, and dry heat.

Steam Dental tools can be sterilized using steam which has reached high temperature under pressure. In order to sterilize dental tools using steam, dental professionals use an autoclave, a controlled steam machine. Such machine comes in different sizes and often configured to accommodate small dental instruments. For efficient sterilization, high temperature must be maintained throughout the process.

Radiation Aside from steam, your dentist may also use radiation for sterilization. This type of sterilizer can be in the form of X-rays, gamma radiation and electrons that can kill microorganisms on an atomic level. Radiation is applied on dental tools through the use of radiation machine that runs on either direct current or alternate current. It has been proven to be effective against bacterial spores, making the sterilization process cost-efficient and consistent.

Liquid Chemicals Unlike other types of sterilizers, liquid chemicals do not involve the use of heat to eliminate microorganisms. Dental tools are scrubbed and soaked in a chemical solution for extended period of time. Some of the common liquid chemicals used by a cosmetic dentist in Orem Utah include phenol, glutaraldehyde, alcohol, and others. While this method of sterilization saves energy as it does not require the use of machine, it may cause rusting of the tools.

Chemical vapor This type of sterilizer involves heating liquid chemicals under pressure to form chemical vapor that will eliminate the microorganisms. Chemical vapor is much beneficial compared to steam and liquid chemicals because it does not cause rusting of dental tools. It has very little moisture content. Sterilization using chemical vapor must be performed with caution in a room with proper ventilation for safety purposes.

Dry heat Compared to chemical vapor, dry heat also prevents rusting of dental tools. An Orem cosmetic dentist may use heat sterilizers which come in two types, namely: toaster oven style and the Cox dry heat sterilizer. Unlike the former type, Cox dry heat sterilizer takes only six minutes to sterilize. These dry heat sterilizers use heat that circulates around the chamber, killing the microorganisms in the tools.