The biomonitoring service is available to dental offices in Nebraska and other health care professionals to assure that their equipment is operating properly to sterilize instruments and other supplies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Dental Association (ADA) recommend that each sterilizing unit be tested at least weekly.
The UNMC College of Dentistry offers a subscription-based service to dental offices to document the effectiveness of their sterilization equipment. Each member dental office is provided a 12-month supply of test strips and pre-paid mailers. At preset intervals—weekly or monthly—the dental office returns a control and a test spore strip to the service for testing.
If the test is positive for bacterial growth, the office is immediately notified that their sterilizer has failed and advised on possible reasons for this failure. If requested, a quarterly biomonitoring log is provided for documentation that the dental office is monitoring their sterilization equipment. A certificate of participation is provided to each subscribing dental office.
Contact Us
Department of Oral Biology | UNMC College of Dentistry, Room 48
Box 830740 | 4000 East Campus Loop South | Lincoln, NE 68583-0740
Phone: 402-472-1380 | Fax: 402-472-2551 | Email: Department of Oral Biology