Is polluted water in your dental unit a genuine risk? – Unfortunately yes

Various national organisations relevant to the dental sector in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Italy, the UK, the US and many other countries indicate this as a challenge that must be borne in mind.

Numerous studies in Denmark and elsewhere have shown that even in a country with very high potable water quality, it is possible to measure very high values for microbial pollution in the dental unit. This indicates that there is a health risk for both patients and staff if the dental practice is not regularly or constantly disinfected.

Espacially the risk of Legionella growth in the Dental unit has been under great focus.
 

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF?

As noted above, the water supplied by the local waterworks is often high quality. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s ideal for the dental unit. The water in many places in the world has a relatively high level of calcium carbonate – hard water. Hard water is not a health risk in any way, but some of the calcium carbonate will precipitate and settle in the ducts and pipes as lime scale. Scaling can cause problems for the sensitive instruments in the dental unit, and it is unfortunately also a fertile substrate for the growth of biofilm.