Background/Objectives: To make a dental office more environmentally conscious, it is essential to use eco-friendly disinfectants without compromising patient safety. Our aim was to examine and compare the effectiveness of the commonly used conventional disinfectants in Romania with the effectiveness of available eco-friendly disinfectants. Methods: Two traditional (Gigasept, Zeta 1 Ultra), and two eco-friendly (IDactiv, Sekusept Aktiv) disinfectants and an eco-friendly (gigazyme) cleaning agent were compared. For a thorough evaluation, minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration (MIC/MBC) tests were conducted, along with a Bradford assay to measure the concentration of residual proteins on instruments contaminated by controlled contamination and dental office use after disinfection. Results: During the MIC test, with the exception of Gigazyme^®, which is an enzymatic cleaner, all of the tested disinfectants were effective in the case of the bacterial reference strains used at the concentration prescribed by the manufacturers. After disinfection, the amount of protein remaining on the dental instruments did not exceed the maximum concentration according to the ISO 15883-5:2005 protocol, and the protein removal efficiency was between 96.04% and 99.03% for all disinfectants. In the MIC/MBC test, the peracetic acid-based Sekusept Aktiv was the most effective, while Gigazyme^® and BossKlein IDactiv^® showed the highest protein removal efficiency. Conclusions: The tested eco-friendly disinfectants meet the necessary performance criteria and thus offer a sustainable alternative to traditional disinfectants.

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) results from the dissemination of Streptococcus pneumoniae to normally sterile anatomical sites such as the bloodstream or cerebrospinal fluid. One of the primary roles of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) used in Romania is to reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease. This single-center retrospective study provides an updated overview of IPD epidemiology in a Romanian tertiary hospital. We analyzed 67 IPD cases identified between 2017 and 2023, of which 45 isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing followed by multilocus sequence typing. Results of genome sequence analysis revealed a diverse population of pneumococci, underlining the importance of continuous genomic surveillance. Expanded-valency pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), particularly PCV20, showed markedly improved serotype coverage compared to PCV7 and PCV13, while PCV21 showed serotype coverage comparable to that of PCV13. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed sustained resistance to beta-lactams, particularly among meningitis isolates, underscoring the need for targeted antibiotic stewardship and continuous monitoring of local resistance trends. Overall, these findings highlight the evolving epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease in Romania, in the post-PCV era, and the need to adapt vaccination and treatment strategies accordingly.