Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003
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Slide 56: Noncritical Instruments and Devices
Slide Text
- Contact intact skin
- Clean and disinfect using a low to intermediate level disinfectant
- Examples: X-ray heads, facebows, pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff
Speaker Notes
Noncritical instruments and devices only contact intact (unbroken) skin, which serves as an effective barrier to microorganisms.
These items carry such a low risk of transmitting infections that they usually require only cleaning and low-level disinfection. If using a low-level disinfectant, according to OSHA, it must have a label claim for killing HIV and HBV. However, if an item is visibly bloody, it should be cleaned and disinfected using an intermediate-level disinfectant before use on another patient.
- Examples of instruments in this category include X-ray head/cones, facebows, pulse oximeter, and blood pressure cuff.
Page last reviewed: September 22, 2009
Page last modified: April 26, 2005
Content source:
Division of Oral Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion
