Dental sterilizer monitoring · United States
CDC's sterilization checklist items and the records that prove them
CDC's infection prevention checklist for dental settings lists five sterilization items in section II.6 — II.6.G, II.6.H, II.6.J, II.6.K and II.6.N — and this page quotes all five word for word (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings).
For each item you get CDC's own line, the log that proves it, and how CDC wants the assessment done.
The five items, word for word
The lines below are CDC's text, quoted without change; the checklist's reuse terms do not allow its substantive content to be changed (CDC reuse terms for the checklist). Each one keeps the label "Source: CDC".
“A chemical indicator is used inside each package. If the internal indicator is not visible from the outside, an exterior chemical indicator is also used on the package”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.G.In plain words: one indicator inside every pack, and a second one on the outside when the internal indicator cannot be seen from the outside (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.G).
“Sterile packs are labeled at a minimum with the sterilizer used, the cycle or load number, the date of sterilization, and if applicable an expiration date”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.H.In plain words: every sterile pack carries at least the sterilizer used, the cycle or load number and the date of sterilization, plus an expiration date when there is one (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.H).
“A biologic indicator (i.e., spore test) is used at least weekly and with every load containing implantable items”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.J.In plain words: a spore test at least weekly, and a spore test in every load that contains implantable items (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.J).
“Logs for each sterilizer cycle are current and include results from each load and comply with state and local regulations”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.K.In plain words: the cycle log is up to date, it holds each load's results, and it complies with state and local regulations (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.K).
“Instrument packs are not used if mechanical (e.g., time, temperature, pressure) or chemical indicators indicate inadequate processing”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.N.In plain words: when the mechanical readings or the chemical indicators show the load was not processed properly, its packs are not used (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.N).
Source: CDC, Infection Prevention Checklist for Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care (October 2016), items II.6.G, II.6.H, II.6.J, II.6.K and II.6.N. These quotes do not imply endorsement of Boldsand Software Inc. or this page by CDC (CDC reuse terms for the checklist). The checklist is free on CDC's website.
Which log proves each item
The right column describes a complete record set. Where it describes Dental Logbook, it is how the product is built, not a CDC rule.
| Item | What CDC asks | The log that proves it |
|---|---|---|
| II.6.G | An indicator inside each pack, plus one on the outside when the internal indicator cannot be seen from the outside.Source: CDC, item II.6.G | The load log entry: the indicator result for each pack, with a count of failed internal indicators and an outside indicator recorded wherever the internal one is not visible. |
| II.6.H | Each sterile pack labeled at a minimum with the sterilizer used, the cycle or load number, the date of sterilization and, if applicable, an expiration date.Source: CDC, item II.6.H | The label on the pack and the load record behind it: the load number printed on the pack points to the entry holding the sterilizer, the date and the contents. |
| II.6.J | A spore test at least weekly and with every load containing implantable items.Source: CDC, item II.6.J | The spore test log: the weekly entry for the sterilizer, and the entry for the test that rode in the implant load. |
| II.6.K | Logs for each sterilizer cycle kept current, holding results from each load and complying with state and local regulations.Source: CDC, item II.6.K | The cycle log itself: one entry per cycle, kept current, with that load's mechanical, chemical and biological results in it. |
| II.6.N | Instrument packs are not used when the mechanical or chemical indicators indicate inadequate processing.Source: CDC, item II.6.N | The load record's outcome field: released, held, or reprocess, with a note beside any failed indicator. |
How the assessment is done
“Assessment of compliance should be conducted by direct observation of DHCP during the performance of their duties.”
Source: CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings (appendix A).CDC wants this checked by watching the work, not by reading the binder afterwards: assessment of compliance is done by direct observation of DHCP (dental health-care personnel) while they do their duties (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings).
So the useful way through the five items is to watch one load from wrapping to storage, and tick what you see against the lines above.
What to record
“Sterilization monitoring (e.g., biological, mechanical, chemical monitoring) and equipment maintenance records are an important component of a dental infection prevention program.”
Source: CDC, 2016 summary of infection prevention practices.A good record set for these five items holds:
- One entry per cycle: date and start time, sterilizer, cycle type, load number, load contents, and whether the load was wrapped or unwrapped.
- The mechanical readings for the load — temperature, pressure on steam units, exposure time — and the chemical indicator results, including how many internal indicators failed.
- The spore test entry: the test and its control from the same lot number, the method used, the result and the date.
- Maintenance for the sterilizer: date, what was done, and who did it.
- The outcome of the load: released, held for a spore test, or reprocess, with a note when something failed.
Dental Logbook keeps these fields and never asks for patient names. When an office needs to trace patients, it writes the load number in its own charts.
Where the checklist is silent
- The five items give no record-keeping period. Item II.6.K only says the logs "comply with state and local regulations" (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings, item II.6.K). How long to keep them is set by your state and local rules, not by these five lines.
- The five items do not say whether logs may be electronic, whether entries need signatures, or what a failed load must record beyond its results. Where this page needs a default, it says "Dental Logbook will..." or "a good log...", and that wording is not a CDC rule.
- The checklist covers more than these five lines. This page stops at the sterilization items of section II.6.
This page is not legal advice; check your state board's current rules.
Records for these items, without the binder
Dental Logbook is being built to keep these records in one place for US dental offices. Pilot offices shape what it records.
Dental Logbook is in development: join the free pilot