2026-01-19 – Weekly Dental Assistant News : Sterilization on busy days

Last week, our community engaged in several insightful discussions. Members focused on enhancing sterilization practices, particularly on busy surgery days, and explored efficient workflows for merging CBCT and IO scans. Pain control during root canal treatments was another recurring theme, alongside debates about the effectiveness of distal end cutters. Additionally, there was considerable interest in dose-saving techniques in radiography, as well as the benefits of barcode labeling for sterilization traceability.


This Week’s Hot Topics

Keeping sterilization traceable on busy surgery days
A vital discussion on ensuring sterilization processes remain consistent and traceable, even during hectic schedules.
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Simple CBCT–IO scan merge workflow for assistants
Discover a streamlined approach to integrating CBCT and intraoral scans, enhancing workflow efficiency.
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Refining intra-op pain control for RCTs
Exploring methods to better manage pain during root canal treatments, ensuring patient comfort.
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Distal end cutters that truly hold
Discussion on finding the best distal end cutters that offer reliability and precision.
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Rectangular collimation vs kVp: bigger dose saver
A deep dive into the impact of collimation and kVp settings on radiation dose reduction.
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Barcode labels for sterilization traceability
Examining the advantages of using barcode systems to enhance sterilization traceability.
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Statim 5000 spore test hiccups
Addressing common issues encountered during spore testing with the Statim 5000.
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CE recommendations for endo asepsis and microscopy
Recommendations for continuing education focused on asepsis and the use of microscopy in endodontics.
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Bitewing frequency gotcha I see weekly
Sharing experiences and tips on the optimal frequency for taking bitewings.
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Guess the priciest disposable per patient
A lighthearted discussion on the cost of disposable items in dental practice.
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Wishing you a productive week ahead. Feel free to jump into any of these discussions or start a new one to share your expertise and learn from others.

On busy surgery days, , our bottleneck eased when we pre-bag two full sets of surgical cassettes and run handpieces in the STATIM while the big autoclave handles cassettes, with a whiteboard “in/out” time so nothing sits wet. Small caveat: we keep implants and torque drivers on a separate quick cycle to avoid long dry times, per CDC guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/summary-infection-prevention-practices.html.

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I print a one-page staging map from ClinCheck with the milestones our GP cares about — space gained, midline settled, final torque — and schedule restoratives against those exact stages. In consults I say “we don’t prep into a moving target,” which sets the timeline and makes waiting for crowns/composites make sense. For a 3–6 hour option, Align Education’s interdisciplinary block (about 3 hrs) helped me turn stage numbers into patient-friendly language and sequencing; it’s Invisalign-heavy but the framework works broadly: https://education.aligntech.com.

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