What you can't see may harm your patient, your staff and your practice reputation! Hu-Friedy look at the hidden nasties in waterlines.
The narrow width, extensive length, and dark/moist environment of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) provides the ideal home for the growth and survival of colonies of microorganisms that begin to build a sticky matrix creating biofilm, and just because you don’t see what’s in your water, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.
When untreated or improperly maintained, the water flowing through these contaminated DUWLs and out through the air/water syringe or high-speed handpieces can carry pieces of biofilm that have broken off of the waterline wall – potentially harming patients, staff, and a practice’s reputation: using the best water in the building, is not enough. The EPA standard for safe drinking water is ≤500 CFU/mL1 and the National and International Guidelines say that “simply using source water containing <500 CFU 2 /mL of bacteria in a self-contained water system will not eliminate bacterial contamination in treatment water if biofilms in the water system are not controlled 3”.
For ensuring safety of patients and staff then, the solution is to use chemical germicides to remove or inactivate DUWL biofilm growth. At this point, the question is simple: how is your dental office treating DUWLs to minimize the potential for microbial growth?
Shocking protocols and daily tablets may be expensive and a waste of time: shocking and monitoring protocols are required, the staff has to pay attention to this task and it takes time to perform it, service technician calls may increase due to a gradual build-up of tablet residue and undissolved tablets potentially blocking connections and narrow passageways, etc.
If the aim is to minimize the potential for microbial growth in your DUWLs in a safe and optimized way, DentaPure™ Cartridge is the solution: you can reduce your dental waterline treatment to a simple annual routine. With one simple installation, you don’t need routine shocking protocols nor monitoring. With cartridges to suit either Independent Water Bottles or Municipal Water Lines, DentaPure™ does not contain harsh chemicals, silver, nor allergenic iodine proteins and it can be used with either tap or distilled water. The elemental iodine (I2) contained in the Cartridge
controls the bacteria as the water passes through, keeping the dental unit safe for 365 days. DentaPure™ Cartridge is EPA registered to provide ≤100 CFU/mL, far below the minimum standard for safe drinking water of 500 CFU/mL4.
Safe, effective, simple and reliable, DentaPure™ Cartridge reduces the possibility of human error and revolutionize your waterline treatment with one simple annual routine.
- https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/tableregulated-drinking-water-contaminants
- CFU: Colony Forming Unit.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings 2003. MMWR 2003;52(No. RR-17): 28-30.
- Verify the minimum standard for safe drinking water according to your Country Regulations.
For more information or to purchase DentaPure™ click here.
