#25 in a series

Practicing proper infection control procedures is the responsibility of every student, staff and faculty member with clinical responsibilities. With the fast-paced nature of the clinical environment, it is sometimes easy to overlook basic infection control policies. To help raise awareness about these issues, we've created this series of infection control reminders and pointers. For questions about infection control policies or more information, contact the School of Dentistry's Director of Health and Safety, Dr. Molly Newlon at: newlonm@dentistry.ucsf.edu.

Deciphering Disinfectant Ingredients. The following key classifies the main ingredients in the commonly used surface disinfectants:

• Chlorine-based products contain: chlorine dioxide or sodium hypochlorite
  
  
• Phenolic solutions contain: chemicals beginning or ending with "phenol," "phenyl," "phenate," and "amylphenol."
  
  
• Iodophors solutions contain: the letters "iodo" or "iodi"
  
  
• Quarternary ammonium compounds contain: benzalkonium chloride, alkyldimethylethyl-benzylammonium chloride, dioctyldemethyl ammonium bromide or didecyldemethyl ammonium bromide
  
  

Best regards,

John Featherstone, MSc, PhD
Interim Dean