Hygiene Atlas

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Single-use (disposable) items

Also called: disposables

Items made for one patient go in the trash, never back in the drawer.

Disposable items are made for one patient and cannot be reliably cleaned. Examples are needles, prophy cups and brushes, saliva ejectors, HVE tips and air-water syringe tips (when disposable). Items used for oral surgery, such as gauze and irrigating syringes, must be sterile when used.

How to spot it

  1. Packaging marked single use or disposable.

What you do

  1. Throw disposables away at the chair during turnover.

Related

Sources: CDC. Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003. MMWR 2003;52(RR-17)