Editor's comment

Last April, we published a guest editorial in the AJO-DO Product Resource Guide entitled, “Sterilization requirements for the placement of temporary anchorage devices.” The article was written as an interview of Andrea Cook by our Techno Bytes Editor, Bob Scholz (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2009;135[4 Suppl]:S20-2). Much of the article was based on the “Guidelines for infection control in dental healthcare settings” from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published in 2003. Since then, we have maintained contact with the CDC and learned that it recently decided to clarify the infection control recommendations regarding the placement of temporary anchorage devices (TADs) and, more specifically, the miniscrew implant (MSI).

In the meantime at my request, Jackie Dorst of Safe Practice, Inc., submitted a critique of the original AJO-DO interview from last April with her interpretation of how the sterilization requirements differ for the placement of TADs. To reduce confusion, we decided to publish this entire critique in the November Reader's Forum. As we were going to press, Drs Jennifer Cleveland and William Kohn of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, completed their updated interpretation of sterilization procedures most appropriate for the placement of MSIs in orthodontic patients. The article by Jackie Dorst and the updated information from the CDC are both published in this column for your convenience. Perhaps the most valuable lesson for our readers is included in the last paragraph of a statement by Drs Cleveland and Kohn, “CDC staff continues to monitor the current scientific literature and update infection control recommendations when new information is available.”