It would be nice to be able to evaluate different dental washer-disinfectors, but standard test soils are too tough, and need a good manual or ultrasonic cleaning.

When you’re buying a car in the United States, one of the factors you look at (especially with today’s gas prices!) is the EPA’s estimated miles per gallon (MPG).  It’s highly unlikely that your MPG would match that estimate exactly, but it gives you an indication of how one car compares to another.  To evaluate cleaning procedures for dental instruments, you’d like to be able to do the same thing: compare the apparatus and procedures.  Luckily, there are “test soils” that have been developed for evaluating medical cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Unluckily, according to a team of Viennese researchers, the standard test soils don’t work for evaluating dental washer-disinfectors, because they won’t come off without something like a good ultrasonic cleaning.

For further information visit www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

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