The MDA wants to remind members that weekly spore testing of sterilization equipment is a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and is not a mandate in Michigan.

The MDA has received numerous inquiries from members regarding an Infection Control Alert that was included with their statements from their spore testing lab at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry. That alert referenced a Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts case regarding a dentist who failed to conduct and record weekly spore tests. Again, weekly spore testing is not mandatory in Michigan.

The MDA advises members to follow CDC recommendation that proper functioning of sterilization cycles be spore tested on a weekly basis. While some experts have said that monthly spore testing can be considered an appropriate interval, the CDC recommends that testing with biologic indicators should occur weekly. 

For more information, visit CDC website section on sterilization monitoring.