Dental News - New standard to be developed for sterile reprocessing in dental practices

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 30. November 2018

save

SYDNEY, Australia: Among the issues arising for small dental practice owners is adhering to regulations that are more applicable to larger institutions such as hospitals. In what the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is calling a “significant advocacy win”, Standards Australia has accepted a proposal to develop a new standard for sterile reprocessing of reusable medical devices and surgical instruments.

According to the ADA, it has lobbied for the past few years to prevent Australian and New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) 4187 from becoming the required standard applicable to small office-based practices. The new standard that will now be developed over the next several years will replace both AS/NZS 4187 and AS/NZS 4815.

The decision follows a discussion on whether there was an ongoing need to maintain two different standards, given the confusion over which standard applied in which setting, or if it would be preferable to move to a single document that would meet the needs of any situation where sterile reprocessing is required.

In response, newly elected ADA Federal President Dr Carmelo Bonanno praised the decision as an important positive step forward, noting that “AS/NZS 4187 is a standard more applicable to large health care organisations and would have placed unreasonable demands on dental practices which would have resulted in increased costs for patients”.

It is envisaged that the single standard will be supported by a set of complementary implementation guides that will explain the application of the standard to particular settings. Throughout the development of the new standard, the ADA will remain closely involved and eventually align its own infection control guidelines to it once ready; however, until then the existing standards remain in place.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Vysinol―new alcohol-free disinfectant for dental practices

BERLIN, Germany: German manufacturer Vysinol has announced the upcoming market launch of an innovative, alcohol-free disinfectant developed specifically to ...

Robotic revolution in dental implantology: A new standard with Neocis’s Yomi system

Robotics has continued to advance across various medical fields, and dental implantology is no exception. Neocis’s Yomi system, the only robotic assistant...

New guidance issued for reopening American dental practices

WASHINGTON, U.S.: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing, and countless stakeholders in the dental industry are feeling its effects. In an attempt to ...

Smile Architect: The new standard of care for interdisciplinary rehabilitations

A new award for high production standard of ceramic dental implants

BERLIN, Germany: On 6 January 2021, the CeramTec Group, a world innovation leader for advanced ceramics, was awarded the Certified Production Quality seal ...

Fundamental principles in designing reprocessing areas

It is recognized all too often that very little consideration is given to sterilization or reprocessing areas in either existing or newly designed dental ...

Interview: Irrigation in endodontics—New standards in the dental office

A main goal of endodontic treatment is to effectively irrigate the canal and thus prevent reinfection of the peri-apical tissue. Recently, a range of new ...

Exciting new composite developed by MIT researchers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., US: In an exciting new development for potential 3D-printing material and conventional casting within dentistry, researchers at ...

FDA proposes new fluoride standard for bottled water

SILVER SPRING, Md., U.S.: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently proposed the lowering of the allowable level of fluoride in bottled water when...

Dentsply Sirona sets new standards in digital dental events

CHARLOTTE, N.C., U.S.: DS World typically takes place in Las Vegas, but was held virtually this year owing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. More than 4,500 ...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 15 September 2025
1:00 pm EST (New York)