Dental Decontamination and HTM 01-05 training
This training covers the safe decontamination of reusable dental instruments following HTM 01-05 guidance. You will learn the complete decontamination cycle from used instruments through cleaning, inspection and sterilisation to safe storage. This protects patients and staff from cross infection including blood borne viruses and ensures our practice meets CQC and GDC standards.
What This Training Covers
A clear, practical grounding in dental decontamination and htm 01-05.
This training covers the safe decontamination of reusable dental instruments following HTM 01-05 guidance. You will learn the complete decontamination cycle from used instruments through cleaning, inspection and sterilisation to safe storage. This protects patients and staff from cross infection including blood borne viruses and ensures our practice meets CQC and GDC standards.
Learning Outcomes
By the end, your staff will be able to:
What Your Team Will Learn
A closer look at the dental decontamination and htm 01-05 module.
The module is built in short, practical sections. Each one teaches a part of the topic, then applies it to a real care scenario and checks understanding before moving on.
Why Decontamination Matters
Every reusable dental instrument that goes into a patient's mouth must be fully decontaminated before it is used on anyone else. Instruments are exposed to blood and saliva which can carry hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, bacteria and prions. If we do not decontaminate properly we risk passing infection from one patient to another or to staff. HTM 01-05 is the national guidance that sets out how to do this safely and our practice must follow it to meet CQC fundamental standards and GDC requirements.
The Decontamination Cycle and Workflow
The decontamination cycle is the journey every reusable instrument must make from used and contaminated to safe for reuse. It goes: transport from surgery to the local decontamination unit, cleaning (manual or automated), rinsing, inspection, sterilisation, then storage. The local decontamination unit must have a strict one way workflow from dirty to clean with no going back. This means dirty instruments enter one side, move through the stages, and clean sterile instruments exit the other side. Clean and dirty work must never mix or cross over.
Cleaning and Inspection
Cleaning is the most important stage because sterilisation cannot work on dirty instruments. Instruments must be manually cleaned using a brush and detergent, or processed in an ultrasonic bath or washer disinfector. After cleaning and rinsing, every instrument must be inspected under illuminated magnification to check it is visibly clean with no debris, blood or damage. If an instrument fails inspection it must be cleaned again. Only instruments that pass inspection can go forward to sterilisation.
Sterilisation and Equipment Testing
Sterilisation uses a steam steriliser (autoclave) to kill all microorganisms. Our practice must test the steriliser every day before use and keep written records. Daily tests include checking the door seal, running a cycle and checking the printout or display shows the correct temperature and pressure were reached. Vacuum sterilisers also need a steam penetration test. We must use the correct water such as reverse osmosis or distilled water. If any test fails the steriliser must not be used until it is fixed and retested.
Personal Protective Equipment and Safe Handling
You must wear the correct personal protective equipment when handling contaminated instruments and during decontamination work. This includes heavy duty gloves, apron and eye protection in the dirty zone. Change to clean gloves for handling sterile instruments in the clean zone. Always handle sharps carefully and dispose of them in the sharps bin immediately. Never resheath needles. Wash your hands before and after removing gloves. Standard precautions mean treating every patient as potentially infectious and every instrument accordingly.
Single Use Instruments and Storage
Single use instruments are marked with a crossed out number 2 symbol and must be used once on one patient only then discarded as clinical waste. Never try to clean and reuse them because they are not designed to withstand decontamination and reusing them is illegal. After sterilisation, reusable instruments must be packaged and stored correctly in the clean zone. Packaged sterile instruments have a shelf life, usually shown on the packaging. Check dates and rotate stock. Once a sterile pack is opened it must be used that day or reprocessed.
Key Points Covered
The things your team must remember.
- Every reusable instrument must go through the full decontamination cycle before reuse to prevent cross infection
- The local decontamination unit must have strict one way workflow from dirty to clean with no mixing
- Instruments must be visibly clean and pass inspection before sterilisation
- Test the steriliser every day before use and keep written records; never use a steriliser that fails testing
- Wear heavy duty gloves, apron and eye protection when handling contaminated instruments
- Single use instruments marked with crossed out 2 must never be reprocessed
Who and how often
Dental Decontamination and HTM 01-05 is refreshed every year, for the staff in your care setting whose roles require it. It includes a practical sign-off.
CQC and standards
Supports the training evidence CQC expects to see for a well-run, safe care setting.
How CareStream Delivers It
Not a slideshow once a year. Training that sticks.
CareStream delivers dental decontamination and htm 01-05 training in the hub your team already uses, grounded in best practice and your own policies, so it fits your care setting and not a generic template.
Teach, then assess
Short teaching sections and a real care scenario, then an assessment that checks understanding.
In any language
Staff complete it in over 60 languages, while your records stay in English.
Learn and retry
A wrong answer triggers a short follow-up lesson and a fresh question, so the gap is closed.
Renewals handled
Automatic reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days, with a live compliance dashboard.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
Give your team dental decontamination and htm 01-05 training that actually sticks.
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