Anyone who has worked in a hospital, doctor's, or dentist's office for any length of time will remember the days before sterilization pouches became a part of every practice's inventory of dental supplies. They will recall how much effort was required to ensure the sterility of critical supplies and instruments. Kits of specific instruments and consumables were bundled up in those green towels, secured with tape that indicated whether or not the item had been autoclaved. Merely opening the kits often proved cumbersome, and there was really no means of ensuring that the sterility of even a seemingly intact kit hadn't been compromised. And a spill or splatter of even a few drops of liquid on the sealed kit rendered it non sterile, at least for legal liability and procedural purposes.
But that was then, and this is now. Except in the cases of expensive, precision instruments that cannot be effectively replaced with single-use disposable equivalents, most medical and dental facilities now utilize disposable instruments and supplies, and for those items that are reusable, the taped cloth bundle has been, for the most part, replaced by sterilization pouches. And poorly designed pouches are little better than a plastic bag. On the other hand, good sterilization pouches - which are essential components in any stock of medical or dental supplies - have a few very essential features that the savvy buyer will look for and, indeed, insist upon.
For one thing, a good sterilization pouch will be constructed with one side being an impermeable plastic membrane that allows the instruments or supplies to be clearly visible, so that any damage to the pouch or its contents is discovered well before it is actually needed. The other side, which is seamlessly attached to the membrane, will be of a semi-permeable paper that allows the transfer of autoclave gases, yet whose microscopic openings are small enough to prevent the passage of liquids or airborne pathogens. Finally, the pouch must have a sure-fire sealing mechanism that is itself impermeable, with no potential for gaps that would allow the passage of contaminants. Furthermore, each of the elements of the pouch must provide good indication of any damage to the packaging itself. When the sealed pouch and its contents are brought into the treatment or operating room, there must be no doubt that its contents are sterile. If virtually any of these design criteria are missing, the pouch - and thus the sterility of its contents - cannot be ensured.
Ultimately, the safety of the dentist or surgeon's patients rests in the clinic's assurance of effective infection control, which is in great part dependent upon the design and quality of the sterilization pouch. It is also worthy of note that it can be quite reassuring to a patient to see the care provider actually tearing open the pouch, for while it might never occur to the dentist or surgeon, seeing instruments or other materials being removed from an obviously well-sealed pouch could well serve to dispel the inherently stressed patient's infection concerns.
The seasoned professionals at Med101Dental.com know what the conscientious practitioner demands in the way of sterilization pouches, as well as the other dental supplies you rely upon to provide your patients with the quality service and reassurance they have come to expect. The close relationship we maintain with our client practitioners ensures that we at Med101Dental.com are able to understand and fulfill their every dental supply need.
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Anne Dessens 
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