Thermal Profile of Metallic Beads in a Bead Sterilizer

摘要

The most common method of chairside dental bur sterilizaiton is to immerse the bur in a germicidal solution which process is time-consuming and may result in corrosion damage. Bead sterilizers are another commonly used chairside sterilization method, principally for endodontic instrumemts. The bead sterilizer consists of a heated chamber containing glass beads or, alternatively salt. Its mode of sterilization is dry heat. Most manufacturers suggest that a sterilization time of 5 seconds is sufficient for sterilization. However, several investigators have shown sterilization times ranging from 3 seconds to 14 minutes, are required, depending on condition. This study investigated the thermal profiles of different bead materials and combinations (layering) of bead materials in a standard bead sterilizer, and the potential effects of these profiles on dental bur sterilization. Use of metallic beads in a standard bead sterilizer improved the temperature profile and the time measured to reach a specific temperature over that of glass beads. Salt, while an improvement over glass beads in most parameters, did not appear to provide a significantly more efficient system, particulary toward the center of the chamber.