answers 0:Helloi got a part time job as an assistant at a dental office.i was shocked so many timesin their sterilizer, there were needles for rootcanal procedure irrigation and disposable suction tips.The workers seemed fine with that but i couldnt believe what i saw..They were reusing the disposable materials by putting them all in the sterilizer.is this normal? Or what..i have an experience working at a dental office for few yrs and have never seen anything like this before.Pls let me know what you think. anyone who have an experience working at dental office.Thank you...Show moreanswers 1:It sounds like the office is taking shortcuts in order to save money at the possible expense of the patients' health. Unfortunately it happens, even though it seems to lack common sense. Disposabl! e plastic High volume evacuator tips and needles are not expensive, and are disposable because they need to be disposed of after usage. A "plastic" HVE tip cannot be sterilized effectively, because the heat from the autoclave would melt it, and sterilizing used needles is risky without reason, to the person doing the disinfecting. Used needles should be disposed of in a sharp's container, as it is considered a biohazard. All dentists should follow "universal precautions" when it comes to bloodborne pathogens. Not everyone knows if they harbor an infectious disease, nor will everyone be honest on their medical history. Most dentists make pretty good money, and there is no a good reason for taking shortcuts, especially when it comes to infection control. If the dentist gets sued or loses his/her license, then it ultimately is not going to be more profitable in the long run. The first thing you should do, is bring it to the dentist's attention, as this person may have left the! responsibilities of sterilization upon the dental assistant a! nd/or dental hygienist.... and expects this person to know what he/she is doing (and may not be aware of what's going on). Perhaps the person in charge of sterilization doesn't know that only metal HVE tips can be sterilized, not disposable HVE tips. If the dentist is aware of what's going on and doesn't seem to care and be willing to change the risky practices going on in his/her office, then you need to contact OSHA and file a complaint. Someone will get sent out to investigate the office and watch how procedures are being done. Also if you took a dental assisting course somewhere, you should contact your dental instructor or dental program director, and see if you can get some advice and help. In an idealistic world, all dental personnel would have a high level of integrity, but as with any career, you are dealing with people with different personalities and different value systems, but sometimes there is just a lack of education and no one has provided correction to the! person(s). https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/hazards/......
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