When we develop a new standard, the only priority we consider is Patient Safety. All our standards are built on two fundamental principles: risk management and patient safety. This includes our accreditation standards for healthcare organizations, office surgeries, and dental facilities, as well as our clinical standards for endoscopy, maternity, acute stroke, and oncology. These same principles guide our surveys, and our surveyors are trained to conduct assessments with this focus.
Our surveys answer one critical question: Are patients safe when using the services we accredit or certify?
- Are patients safe when undergoing a colonoscopy?
- Are women safe when giving birth?
- Is it safe to perform surgical procedures in a small office surgery?
Our mission is to answer these questions, not simply to accredit or certify organizations.
Recently, we assessed three dental facilities previously accredited, with two also holding ISO 9001 certification. We were shocked to find that they were reusing dental burs and dental files. Two of the three facilities didn’t even sterilize these instruments; they reused them unprocessed. The biggest issue was that they were completely unaware of the risks involved. And the risks are not just significant—they are enormous.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dictates what can and cannot be used in clinical practices. While some may overlook these regulations, organizations like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) certainly do not. They design regulations and recommendations to address these risks.
Here’s what the FDA stated about reusing dental burs on September 4, 2019:
“The FDA considers all diamond-coated burs single-use unless the manufacturer has a 510k clearance on file.”
Yes, you read that correctly—all diamond-coated burs. Think about it: there is no way to effectively clean and sterilize the microscopic pits and grooves on these instruments. If you can’t sterilize something that has been in one patient’s mouth, would you want it used in yours?
It’s now 2024, but the FDA implemented this rule back in 2019. Of course, in some countries, these regulations are not mandatory, but that doesn’t mean patients are safe from contracting HIV or Hepatitis C.
The worst part is that these facilities used their accreditation as a marketing tool to attract patients.
The next time you sit in a dentist’s chair, make sure the dentist isn’t using dental burs or files from the previous patient. It’s appalling that someone would risk your health and your life to save just a few dollars.
The AACI Standard explicitly prohibits the reuse of dental burs and dental files, regardless of whether they’ve been sterilized or not. When you see the golden AACI seal, you can be confident that you’re in a facility that prioritizes patient safety. We guarantee it with our name.
For us, accreditation isn’t just a business—it’s a way of thinking.