Guide for dental office managers · United States
Checking time, temperature and pressure on every load
For every load, check the mechanical readings (e.g., time, temperature and pressure) and the chemical indicators, and note what you saw in your sterilization records (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines; CDC, Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings, 2016).
If the readings or the indicators show that the load was not processed properly, the instrument packs from that load should not be used until they are reprocessed (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
What you check on every load
Two things are checked on every load: the machine’s own readings, and the indicators that go through the cycle with the load. Each load is monitored with mechanical (e.g., time, temperature, and pressure) and chemical indicators (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
The mechanical part is done by looking at the machine: assess cycle time, temperature and pressure by observing the gauges or displays on the sterilizer, and note these parameters for each load (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
Mechanical monitoring means checking the sterilizer gauges, computer displays or printouts, and documenting the sterilization pressure, temperature and exposure time in your sterilization records (CDC, Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings, 2016). Some tabletop sterilizers have recording devices that print out these parameters (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines). On a machine that only displays them, the same parameters are observed on the gauges or display and noted for the load (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
Within the manufacturer’s parameters
The readings are compared against one authority: the manufacturer of your sterilizer. Documenting them means recording that pressure, temperature and exposure time have reached the levels recommended by the sterilizer manufacturer (CDC, sterilization monitoring page for dental settings, 2024).
Mechanical monitoring should be conducted for every sterilizer load (CDC, sterilization monitoring page for dental settings, 2024).
The rows quoted on this page set no temperatures, pressures or times of their own; they point to the levels the manufacturer recommends (CDC, sterilization monitoring page for dental settings, 2024). Where the pack is silent, this page does not fill the gap with a number of its own.
Dental Logbook will store each cycle type’s target temperature and exposure time from the manufacturer’s instructions, and ask one question per load: within the manufacturer’s parameters, yes or no. A good log treats that question as part of the reading, not as an afterthought.
What to record
A load entry is short, but its parts are fixed. The table sets the wording in the sources beside the place each check lands in the log.
| What the source says | Source | What a good load entry shows |
|---|---|---|
| “Monitor each load with mechanical (e.g., time, temperature, and pressure) and chemical indicators” | C03-7 · CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines | The temperature, the pressure (steam), the exposure time, and the indicator results for this load. |
| “assessing cycle time, temperature, and pressure by observing the gauges or displays on the sterilizer and noting these parameters for each load” | C03-8 · CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines | The readings, noted load by load, not summarised for the day. |
| “Mechanical monitoring involves checking the sterilizer gauges, computer displays, or printouts; and documenting the sterilization pressure, temperature, and exposure time in your sterilization records.” | SUM-2 · CDC, Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings, 2016 | The three numbers written into the record that stays with the load. |
| “documenting in your sterilization records that pressure, temperature, and exposure time have reached the levels recommended by the sterilizer manufacturer” | FAQ-2 · CDC, sterilization monitoring page for dental settings, 2024 | Whether the readings were within the manufacturer’s parameters. |
A good load entry also carries the date and start time, the sterilizer and the cycle type, the load number, the load contents, whether the load was wrapped, whether it contains an implantable device, the operator’s name or initials, and the outcome: released, held for a spore test, or failed and reprocessed.
Dental Logbook will fill in the load number, the date and the operator, ask for the readings and the indicator results, and hold the entry until the outcome is chosen. A photo of the printout is one optional field in that entry.
If you want the paper version first, the free sterilizer load log (every cycle) on this site gives each of these a column.
A failed reading means the load is not used
A failed mechanical or chemical check has one consequence for that load: the packs in it are not used (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines). The checklist states the rule in one line: instrument packs are not used if mechanical (e.g., time, temperature, pressure) or chemical indicators indicate inadequate processing (CDC, infection prevention checklist for dental settings).
If either mechanical indicators or internal or external chemical indicators indicate inadequate processing, items in the load should not be used until reprocessed (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
What Dental Logbook does at that point. The load is marked “failed, reprocess”, and the entry asks for notes before anything else happens with it. Dental Logbook will not mark a load released until its readings and its indicator results are in the entry.
Keeping the printouts
A printout is one place the readings live. Some tabletop sterilizers have recording devices that print out these parameters (CDC, 2003 dental infection-control guidelines).
What the sources ask for is the documentation, not the paper: the pressure, temperature and exposure time are documented in your sterilization records (CDC, sterilization monitoring page for dental settings, 2024).
Keeping printouts is not in the pack. None of the rows quoted on this page asks you to keep the printouts themselves, and none of them sets how long anything is kept. Where the pack is silent, this page says so instead of inventing a filing rule.
If a printout is the easiest proof for your office, keep it your own way: a photo of it is an optional field in the load record, and Dental Logbook will store that photo with the entry.
This page is not legal advice; check your state board's current rules.