Reprocessing of single-use dental medical devices:analysis of chemical and physical impairment

The reprocessing of single-use dental-medical device is a common practice in many countries so as to reduce the costs of health care and the volume of waste generated. Changes in physical and chemical and therefore, adverse events involved in reprocessing are the main concerns related to this practice. Although the reprocessing is a common practice, there are few studies that validate and real risk of re-use of single use dental-medical devices. Is an urgent need for further reflection and evaluation of the risk-benefit decision on the reuse of these items. The objective of this study was to discuss changes in the integrity and functionality of the single-use dental-medical device after cycles of reprocessing. It was used a total of 11 studies from database of the Virtual Health Library. The results of this review showed that reprocessing causes changes in physical and impaired functionality of the single-use dental-medical devices that independent of their type or composition. There was a correlation between the amendments and the number of reprocessing cycles. The reprocessing allows the adverse events that are still unknown. It highlights the importance of a joint assessment of changes in integrity and functionality after each reprocessing and the creation of validated protocols that describe the maximum number of reprocessing cycles.