What is sanitization?

• A. Destroys all microorganisms on a surface.
• B. Inhibits bacterial growth or inactivates pathogens, but does not destroy microorganisms. Sanitization is used to remove contaminated materials from equipment or instruments.
• C. A cleaning method for skin.
• D. A process that sterilizes instruments.

Answer: (B)

Sanitization is about lowering the number of microorganisms on a surface or item to a safe level set by health standards. It does not destroy every microorganism—that would be sterilization. Instead, sanitization reduces the overall microbial load, often by cleaning away soil and debris and applying a sanitizing agent so that equipment or instruments are safe for handling and routine use. This differentiates it from sterilization (which eliminates all life forms) and from simple cleaning (which removes dirt but may not reduce microbial counts to safe levels).