How Are Dental Sterilization Technicians Different From Central Sterile Technicians?

There are many fields in the scope of a sterile processing technician career. They must go through many processes and methods to become a sterile technician. But different fields have different roles. Here we will explain the differences between the definition, sterile processing technician career, responsibilities, and salary of a dental sterilization technician and a central sterile technician.

Differences Between Dental Sterilization Technician and Central Sterile Technician

Definition

Dental sterilization technicians ensure dental equipment and instruments are properly disinfected, cleaned, and sterilized before being used on patients. This plays a vital role in the dental field, as improperly sterilized or cleaned instruments can lead to serious infections or other problems. These technicians generally work under the supervision of a dental hygienist or dentist. However, they may also function with other dental professionals like dental laboratory technicians or dental assistants.

While a central sterile technician plays a significant role in indirectly providing patient care, these technicians carefully sterilize each medical equipment and instrument to ensure the safety of medical staff and patients. A central service or sterile processing technician installs, prepares, assembles, cleans, and sterilizes all the laboratory and healthcare equipment used in surgeries, medical exams, and other clinical processes. They ensure strict compliance with sterilization processes and ensure that equipment, instruments, and supplies are safe for reuse across patients every day. They play an essential role in ensuring the success of surgeries. Sterile processing technicians generally work in hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, and other settings that utilize medical equipment

Job Duties

Dental Sterilization Technician job duties:

Dental sterilization technicians have a broad range of responsibilities, which can include the following:

• Retaining inventory of sterilizers and other instruments utilized for sterilization processes.
• Communicating with the dentist about details of the method
• Observing instruments during sterilization methods to ensure that sterilization norms are being followed during sterile training
• Sterilizing and cleaning equipment used in dental offices, such as x-ray machines and drills.
• Performing sterilization tasks like dry stabilization and autoclave sterilization
• Preparing sterilization instruments for use by maintaining sterilizer logs and maintenance schedules
• Specifying whether sterilization equipment is functioning properly by performing routine maintenance checks
• Preparing sterilization solutions like chemical solutions utilized in autoclaves
• Sterilizing dental instruments using various methods like immersion and exposure to radiation.

A  sterile processing technician regularly conducts several duties, including:

• Preparing and delivering sterilized and clean instruments and equipment essential for surgeries, medical examinations, medical carts, and clinical processes
• Wrapping, sterilizing, organizing, and preparing surgical instruments and medical equipment into instrument trays for use during clinical processes
• Laying out surgical gloves before each medical procedure
• Collecting and manually cleaning used and infected medical equipment and instruments for sorting and decontamination
• Preparing and packing decontaminated medical devices and supplies for sterilization
• Operating and monitoring sterilization instruments and equipment in sterile technician training
• Examining supplies meticulously to ensure their cleanliness
• Checking and reporting any issues or problems with the sterilization equipment to supervisors or surgeons and requesting replacements
• Removing medical waste and disposing of this waste appropriately
• Retaining records of sterilization procedures, sterilized items and supplies, and equipment maintenance
• Reordering surgical and medical supplies, controlling the inventory, and checking the expiration dates of products

Salary

Dental sterilization technicians’ salaries differ depending on their experience, education level, geographic location, and company size. However, the average annual salary is $40,504. The sterile job of dental sterilization technicians is anticipated to grow faster than average over the next decade. As dentists resume expanding their procedures, they will need more dental supplies and equipment. Moreover, as the population ages, there’ll be greater demand for dental services, requiring more dental sterilization technicians to ensure that the equipment is properly sterilized and cleaned.

While the national average salary for a sterile tech is $60,558 annually, this average can vary depending on the business you work for, the state or city you work in, and any specialized certifications you retain. Your level of experience can also make a substantial difference. The more work experience a person has, the higher the income they expect to make.

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