For dental practices
InstaTRU™ is an FDA 510(k) cleared biological indicator for steam sterilization. Run your spore test in your own office, get a visual result in 20 seconds without incubation, and have it logged in the app. No envelope, no stamp, no incubator, no week of waiting.
Same test. Different week.
0.0000% of the way to a result.
Indicator Solution added. Reading the tablet.
Both bars are to scale. The mail-back bar assumes a 6-day turnaround, the middle of the typical 5 to 7 days.
The week you're waiting
Not just the fee. The handwriting, the postage, and the days your practice keeps running without a result.
Office name, phone, email, sterilizer type, make, model, serial, test date, operator. Every blank is a chance for an error the lab can't read.
Many programs make you pay the postage. A First-Class Forever stamp is $0.82 as of July 12, 2026. Every test, every week.
Once it's in the mailbox, you can't track it or speed it up. Monday's test often doesn't reach the lab until Wednesday or Thursday.
The lab tests it and sends results back. If the cycle failed, you learn about it after a week of loads have already gone back to the operatory.
What your team already knows
Five to seven days on average between running the test and reading the result. Mail, transit, lab, report. It's built into how mail-back works.
Once it leaves your office, the test is in someone else's hands. Delays, lost mail, and illegible forms are all outside your control.
A failed result that arrives days late means tracing back every load since. With InstaTRU™, you know about the cycle you just ran.
No envelopes.
No stamps.
No incubator.
No week of waiting.
How it fits your practice
From pulling the indicator out of the sterilizer to a saved record in the app. Once the indicator is cool enough to handle.
Take the indicator out of the sterilizer and scan it in the InstaTRU™ app. Lot number and expiration date are captured for you.
Open the vented cap, set the tablet in the tray, and add 1 to 3 drops of Indicator Solution. No gloves or aseptic transfer needed.
Tablet stays off-white/yellow: PASS. Tablet turns red: FAIL. No incubator. No reader.
Take a picture with your phone or tablet. The app reads PASS or FAIL and saves it to your secure cloud records.
Reading the result. Determine the color within 20 seconds of adding Indicator Solution. Off-white/yellow is a negative result: PASS. Red is a positive result: FAIL, so investigate the cycle and re-run the load with a new indicator. Results stay valid for up to 5 minutes. Run one unprocessed indicator as a Positive Control.
The InstaTRU™ app
The InstaTRU™ app is a cloud-based sterilization log. It captures and documents every test result in seconds, so your records are ready when the inspector asks.
Video 1 · The conversation
She's at the front desk, filling out the mail-back form by hand. Again.
She walks the dentist through the 5 to 7 days, and every load that runs in the meantime.
She shows him InstaTRU™. Drops, a 20-second read, a picture, saved in the app.
He doesn't have an answer. That's the point.
Side by side
| Feature | Typical mail-back program | InstaTRU™ |
|---|---|---|
| Time to result | 5 to 7 days on average | 20 seconds |
| Test to saved record | About a week, when the report arrives | About 90 seconds |
| Where the test is read | An outside lab | In your sterilization area |
| Paperwork | Handwritten form, every test | Scan the indicator, snap the result |
| Postage | Often yours to pay, $0.82+ per test | None. Nothing to mail |
| Equipment | None in office, the lab incubates | None. No incubator, no reader |
| If a cycle fails | You find out days later | You know before the load is used |
| Your records | Lab report, filed when it arrives | Cloud log with photo of every result |
Run your own numbers
Questions dental teams ask
No. InstaTRU™ needs no incubator, no incubation period and no special reader. You read the tablet by eye in 20 seconds. There is no equipment to buy, plug in, calibrate or replace.
Yes. InstaTRU™ is an FDA 510(k) cleared biological indicator (K251559) inoculated with a minimum of 105 viable Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores. It is intended for routine monitoring of steam sterilization and for releasing processed loads, which makes it your in-office spore test.
It covers the 132°C cycles most dental autoclaves run, plus 121°C and 135°C.
Follow your state dental board and CDC guidance, which call for at least weekly spore testing. For greatest control, True Indicating recommends one or more InstaTRU™ indicators with every load. A 20-second result makes that practical.
No. A processed indicator can sit at room temperature for up to 72 hours before you activate it, with no effect on performance.
No. The indicator and Indicator Solution were evaluated and contain no skin irritants, and aseptic transfer is not required.
ISO 11138-1, ISO 11138-3 and USP <55> Biological Indicators: Resistance Performance Tests.
15°C to 30°C, 20% to 80% relative humidity. Do not freeze. Shelf life is usually 20 months from the date of manufacture.
Get started
Email us to learn more and set up an InstaTRU™ account for your practice.
