CaviCide^® & CaviWipes^®

According to the CDC, transferal of health care associated pathogens from environmental surfaces to patients in the dental operatory is largely via hand contact with the surface. In their 2003 Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities, they state, "Although hand hygiene is important to minimize the impact of this transfer, cleaning and disinfecting environmental services as appropriate is fundamental in reducing their potential contribution to the incidence of health-care associated infections (HAI)."

READ THE LABEL! There are some key things you want to look for when selecting a surface disinfectant. Hover over each of the items below to learn more.

• Is the product an intermediate-level disinfectant?

  Your product label may not say “low-level disinfectant” or “intermediate-level disinfectant”. According to the CDC, “Intermediate-level disinfectants might be cidal for mycobacteria, vegetative bacteria, most viruses, and most fungi but do not necessarily kill bacterial spores.” The key is that intermediate-level disinfectants have a tuberculocidal claim.

  “When bloodborne pathogens other than HBV or HIV are of concern, OSHA continues to require use of EPA-registered tuberculocidal disinfectants.” CDC, "Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities", November 2008.

  You want your surface disinfectant to be effective for every situation; a low-level disinfectant won’t always be able to deal with the kinds of pathogens you may encounter on your clinical contact surfaces.

  “Use intermediate-level disinfectants to disinfect clinical contact surfaces with or without visible blood.” (Emphasis added.) OSAP, “CDC Guidelines: From Policy to Practice”, 2004-2007.

• Is the product EPA registered?

  EPA registered products ensure the highest standards of safety to protect human health and the environment. Only products that are EPA approved as “disinfectants for use in hospital or medical environments” have a demonstrated ability to kill Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella enterica.

  (DIS/TSS-5 Sept. 22, 1982. “Confirmatory Efficacy Data Requirements”. http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/dis_tss_docs/dis-05.htm) "[The CDC] guideline clearly states that only commercially available EPA-registered agents should be used on clinical contact surfaces in dental health care facilities."

  OSAP, "2003 CDC Guidelines Offer More Choices for Managing Operatory Surfaces", CDA Journal, November 2004

• What is the active ingredient?

  Knowing the active ingredient in your surface disinfectant is important to understanding its efficacy and its impact on your clinical contact surfaces. For example, products classified as “high-alcohol” are less effective at cleaning blood or organic material from a surface, which compromises their ability to disinfect.¹ Products that use hydrogen peroxide as their active ingredient have been demonstrated to be corrosive to certain surfaces and materials.^{2 3} Quaternary-based, low-alcohol surface disinfectants are a good alternative to high-alcohol and hydrogen peroxide based products because they are proven to be a good cleaner and disinfectant.

  ¹ F. Prior, K. Fernie, A. Renfrew, G. Heneaghan. "Alcoholic fixation of blood to surgical instruments — a possible factor in the surgical transmission of CJD?" Journal of Hospital Infection 2004; 58, 78-80.
  ² CDC, "Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities", November 2008.
  ³ Metrex Research, LLC internal test data. Available upon request.

• What is the contact time for TB?

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires the destruction of M.tuberculosis as the benchmark for intermediate-level disinfectants. M. tuberculosis is used as the resistance standard for disinfectants because of its innate resistance to chemical germicides. Killing M. tuberculosis also destroys other pathogens of occupational significance, including HBV, HCV, HIV, influenza viruses, Staphylococcus aureus, and others.

  John A. Molinary, PhD. “Environmental Surface Asepsis: Principles, Applications, and Issues”. http://cde.dentalaegis.com/courses/4407

  The longer the TB kill time of your product, the longer it takes you to turn over your operatory. Do you have 10 minutes to spare in between patients?

  "An important issue concerning use of disinfectants for noncritical surfaces in health-care settings is that the contact time specified on the label of the product is often too long to be practically followed. The labels of most products registered by EPA for use against HBV, HIV, or M. tuberculosis specify a contact time of 10 minutes. Such a long contact time is not practical for disinfection of environmental surfaces in a health-care setting...."

  CDC, "Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities", November 2008.

• Can the product clean as well as disinfect?

  If your surface disinfectant is not also labeled for cleaning, you will need to purchase a separate pre-cleaning product.

  “Disinfectants may be selected for rapid antimicrobial effectiveness, but may have inferior cleaning capabilities and require a separate, compatible cleaning product. [Health Care Workers] may mistakenly use only the disinfectant without the cleaner. Selecting a single product that both cleans and disinfects effectively in two steps may avoid this problem.”

  John A. Molinari, PhD, and Nancy Andrews, RDH, BS. “Committing to Best Infection Control Practices: An Evidence Based Approach to Keeping the Dental Operatory Safe.” Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, September 2008.

  "Products with high amounts of alcohol may be less effective cleaners of organic material and are often sold with separate pre-cleaning products such as foaming cleaners. In contrast, most water-based products, with or without alcohol, can be used for both cleaning and disinfection, avoiding the need for two products."

  Nancy Andrews, "Surface Disinfection - Still Vitally Important", First Impressions Magazine, June 2008

• Is the product compatible with my surfaces and equipment?

  The CDC states that the ideal surface disinfectant “should not corrode instruments and metallic surfaces and should not cause the deterioration of cloth, rubber, plastics, and other materials.” Make sure the product label lists the surfaces it is compatible with, and make sure the list includes the surfaces in your operatory.

  CDC, "Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities", November 2008.