A Novel Method of Sterilizing Orthodontic Instruments

Abstract

A range of orthodontic instruments was artificially inoculated with a mixed culture of representatives of the oral microflora and a marker bacterium and subjected to dry heat sterilization using a glass bead sterilizer. The shortest time which would guarantee total sterilization of the functional parts of the instruments was thirty seconds.

Keywords

• instrument
• sterilization
• dry heat