Accepted Students

Dear Entering Student,

Welcome to the Dental Branch!

I would like to encourage you to begin collecting extracted human teeth from various dental offices. You will use these for many first and second year dental projects. Collection should conform to infection control procedures due to the potential risk of infection of blood borne pathogens contained within the extracted teeth.

Collection, storage, sterilization, and handling of extracted teeth used for educational purposes at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Dental Branch follows Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and guidelines as described by Schulein (Schulein TM. "Infection control for extracted teeth in the teaching laboratory". J.Dent. Edu. 58:411-413; 1994).

• Teeth collected from dental offices are biohazards and should be stored in an antimicrobial solution.
  • Initial collection and storage medium: 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (1:10 dilution of commercial chlorine bleach) in wide-mouthed, securely sealed plastic jars.
  • Add one part commercial bleach to nine parts water (all bleach is 5.25% sodium hypochlorite).
• The jars should be labeled appropriately (0.5% sodium hypochlorite).
• Use gloves, masks, and protective eyewear if you handle any collected teeth.

If any questions or concerns should arise, you may contact:

• Dr. William Tate
• University of Texas HSC at Houston Dental Branch
• 713 500-4264
• William.H.Tate@uth.tmc.edu