Washing and drying. The tooth is usually irrigated
vigorously with air and water for about 30 seconds and
then dried with uncontaminated compressed air for 15
seconds [Manton and Messer, 1995]. However,
Waggoner and Siegal [1996] consider that exact
washing and drying times are not as important as
ensuring that both washing and drying are thorough
enough to remove all etchant from the surface of the
tooth to give a chalky, frosted appearance.