1978
ADA publishes its first set of guidelines for infection control in the dental office and recommends against using quaternary ammonium compounds to disinfect instruments.
Infection control products like the bead sterilizer begin to appear in DPR.
1979
DPR presents specific products as aids to prevent hepatitis cross-contamination.
1981
ADA publishes guidelines on instrument sterilization.
AIDS first reported in the United States. It is later linked to blood.
1984
The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures (OSAP) is created.
1985
ADA publishes guidelines on infection control for the dental office and the dental laboratory.
1986
DPR publishes its first article in the monthly series “Infection Control Report,” in the July/August issue.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes its first set of recommendations for infection control in dentistry.
1991
Kimberly Bergalis, who reportedly contracted HIV from her dentist, asks the U.S. Congress to force healthcare workers to be tested for HIV.
1992
OSHA enacts the bloodborne pathogens standard to help protect workers from exposure to human body fluids.
2002
Chris H. Miller, PhD, becomes contributing author for DPR's "Infection Control Report" beginning in August.
2003
The CDC introduces the revised and updated Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003, in the December 2003 MMWR.
The rise and demise of glass bead sterilizers
For a flash, glass bead sterilizers enjoyed a mini-rise in popularity in the dental office and then suddenly fell out of favor after the FDA declared them unsuitable for dental instrument sterilization in 1997.
In September 2003, just before the release of the latest CDC guidelines, 6.6% of survey respondents said they had a functioning glass bead sterilizer that they used regularly in their practice…but they also indicated they used other instrument sterilization options, including conventional and cassette-style autoclaves.
"One of the biggest changes in infection control practice and its priorities within the last
40 years is the routine use of gloves, masks and protective eyewear for [treatment of] all patients."
—Chris H. Miller, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Oral Microbiology,
Indiana University School of Dentistry
1977 (left) 1982 (middle), 1983 (right)
Bare-handed dentistry
Treating patients without wearing gloves was common before the CDC published Hand Hygiene Guidelines in 2002.
Instrument sterilizing and packaging
Despite an initial takeoff in popularity, glass bead sterilizers were deemed ineffective as a sterilization tool by the FDA, as reported in the Centers for Disease Control Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003.*
Instead, 77% of doctors who responded to DPR's Infection Control Survey in 2003 said they used a conventional autoclave and 30% used a cassette-style autoclave for instrument sterilizing purposes.
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