Abstract

OLIVEIRA, Camilla Aparecida Silva de; COSTA, Sidinei Miguel; ZOCRATTO, Keli Bahia Felicíssimo  and  BRANCO, Kelly Moreira Grillo Ribeiro. Evaluation of microbial recontamination of sterile dental articles according to the handling of packaging. RFO UPF [online]. 2011, vol.16, n.3, pp. 256-260. ISSN 1413-4012.

Introduction: The handling of sterilized materials is one of the variables that may contribute to recontamination of the dental material during storage. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of recontamination of sterile dental materials from the handling of envelopes stored for seven days in storage areas of Material and Sterilization Center. Materials and Method: 72 glass rods as samples, divided into three groups: control group (12 sterilized glass rods without the shell), Group A (30 glass rods involved in auto-sealing package stored in a locked cabinet where the handling of samples was not allowed) and Group B (30 glass rods involved in auto-sealing package stored in a cabinet where the handling of samples was allowed). All samples were subjected to microbiological analysis. A descriptive and comparative analysis of the results was accomplished. Results: Group B showed a higher growth of creamy colonies when compared to group A. Conclusions: Therefore, it is concluded that handling is an important variable in re-contamination of materials by bacteria, since hands are the main via of transmission of these microorganisms.

Keywords : Sterilization.; Microbiology.; Handwashing..