title: Stainless steel crowns reuse and decontamination techniques: a survey among Indian pediatric dentists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the pattern and extent of stainless steel crown (SSC) reuse following try-in and the methods employed for their decontamination among Indian pediatric dentists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were delivered personally to 100 pediatric dentists selected randomly across India. Questionnaire was divided into three subsections. The first section assessed demographics to determine the sample population characteristics. The second section dealt with the pattern of SSCs use and reuse following size determination. The third section inquired into general cross infection control procedures including cleaning, sterilization, and training to assess the general level of compliance. Data analysis involved descriptive analysis using SPSS 16.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of respondents (98.92%) routinely reused the crowns after they had been tried in the patient. Only one respondent (1.08%) discarded the crowns after try-in. Autoclave (25%) was the most common method employed for the decontamination of tried-in SSCs among the respondents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of the participating pediatric dentists are reusing SSCs following try-in during crown selection. However, great diversity exists in the methods employed for the decontamination of the same. This demands for more research to provide guidelines into the most effective method of decontamination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Farhin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abhinav
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thejokrishna
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sajjad
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003442:Crowns; D003666:Decontamination; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D013193:Stainless Steel; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D013193:Stainless Steel