KARACHI - The Department of Oral Diagnosis & Medicine, Sir Syed Dental Hospital, recently organized a lecture on Sterilization and disinfection. It was conducted by 3rd year BDS students (Maryam Akbar, JaveriaHabibullah and RabbiyaTayab). Dr.MahreenShahzad (Head and Assistant Professor, SSCMS) was the chief organizer.The aim of the lecture was to refresh and spread knowledge regarding sterilization and disinfection of instruments and dental units in hospital, in order to prevent spread of deadly diseases among the patients, Students, Faculty Members and Dental Assistants. The speakers briefly discussed all aspects of the sterilization and disinfection, starting with the definition of sterilization, which denotes; the removal of all microorganisms and other pathogens from an object or surface, by treating it with chemicals or subjecting it to high heat or radiation. The lecturer also classified dental instruments into; critical, semi critical and non critical categories, based on risk of transmission and need of sterilization. Furthermore, they discussed different methods of sterilization, which included; autoclave - as the gold standard sterilization method, chemiclave - dry heat ovens, exposure to ethylene exposure gas, boiling water and ionizing radiations. The discussion also focused on the disinfection of dental units and environmental surfaces. At the end there was brief discussion on the disinfection of prosthesis and dental laboratory. Due to alarming rates and rapid progression of life threatening diseases, there isa need forfrequent lectures on sterilization and disinfection among various health care settings.-PR
