New York dental sterilization rules: what to test, record and keep

What New York's rules do say

The duty is general rather than a schedule: failing to use scientifically accepted infection prevention techniques appropriate to the profession for the cleaning and sterilization or disinfection of instruments, devices, materials and work surfaces is unprofessional conduct (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

It is also unprofessional conduct to fail to maintain equipment and devices used for sterilization according to the manufacturer's instructions (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)(viii)).

Licensees are responsible for adequately monitoring the performance of all personnel, licensed or unlicensed, for whom they are responsible, regarding infection control techniques (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)(ix)).

Dentists must complete course work or training appropriate to their practice regarding infection control and barrier precautions every four years, and attest to it at each registration (New York Education Law §6505-b; NYSED infection control training page).

How often to spore test

New York sets no spore-testing frequency at all, for any sterilizer or cycle type (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

The state's infection control training syllabus lists biologic monitors among the tools of sterilization monitoring, with no frequency attached, and it is training guidance rather than a rule (State Education Department and Department of Health infection control training syllabus, 2018).

Dental Logbook will run whatever schedule your office sets, and keep each result with the load it belongs to.

Implant loads

New York's rules do not mention implant loads: nothing in them calls for a spore test with an implant load, or for holding the items until a result is known (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

Per-cycle checks

No New York rule requires mechanical readings or chemical indicators on every load (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

The training syllabus names what an office uses to monitor a cycle — biologic monitors, process monitors such as tape and indicator strips, and physical monitors such as pressure and temperature gauges — but it is guidance, not a rule (State Education Department and Department of Health infection control training syllabus, 2018).

A good log keeps the readings and the indicators with each cycle, so a later question about a load has an answer.

Air-removal tests

New York's rules do not mention air-removal tests, which are used on pre-vacuum steam sterilizers (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

If your office runs one, that is your own standard rather than a state requirement (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

After a failed test

New York sets no procedure for a failed spore test or any other failed monitor (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

The hook is the general duty itself: failing to use scientifically accepted infection prevention techniques is unprofessional conduct (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

What a log entry holds

New York's rules list no fields for a sterilizer record, and set no records rule for sterilizer logs at all (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

The training syllabus mentions record keeping and a recall/tracking system for each sterilization processing batch or item; that is guidance, not a rule (State Education Department and Department of Health infection control training syllabus, 2018).

A good log keeps the sterilizer, the cycle, the load and its contents, the readings, the indicators, who ran it and the spore result.

How long to keep records

New York sets no retention period for sterilizer records (New York rules 8 NYCRR part 29).

All patient records must be retained for at least six years; that is a rule about patient records, not about sterilizer records (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(3)).

There is no statute of limitations for charges of professional misconduct (NYSED practice guidelines, recordkeeping).

Dental Logbook keeps your sterilizer records for as long as your account runs, never deletes them on its own, and exports them on request.

Who asks for your records

Failing to respond within 30 days to written communications from the State Education Department or the Department of Health, and to make available any relevant records with respect to an inquiry or complaint about your conduct, is unprofessional conduct (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.1(b)(13)).

New York and CDC guidance

New York's rules do not adopt CDC guidance, so its recommendations are not New York requirements (New York rule 8 NYCRR 29.2(a)(13)).

Law, rules and regulations, not guidelines, specify the requirements for practice and what may constitute professional misconduct (NYSED practice guidelines).

Whether the board would treat a departure from that guidance as failing to use scientifically accepted techniques is a judgement call; no New York text read for this page says so. Dental Logbook labels guidance as a recommendation, not as a state rule.

What Dental Logbook does about the silence

The logbook asks for the checks your office decides on, on the schedule your office sets, and keeps every entry with its time, its load and the person who did it.

Spore tests, load records, air-removal tests and what happens after a failure live in one record that exports when you need it. Where a state gives no schedule, Dental Logbook does not invent one; where a state only publishes guidance, the logbook says so.

Every rule on this page names its source in plain words, so you can check the wording yourself before you rely on it.