Abstract
Water delivered through dental unit waterline system (DUWS) is often reported contaminated with microbes dislodged from biofilm that forms within the tubing of a dental chair unit (DCU). ADM: The study aimed at evaluating the sanitary level of DCU water from a teaching dental clinic. Materials: The presence of pathogenic bacteria which include total coliforms, faecal coliforms, E. coli, faecal streptococci and P. aeruginosa were determined using conventional microbiological methods while PCR technique was used to identify other microbial contaminants. Result: pH of DCU water was found slightly acidic at pH 5.4-5.5 and the temperature was 23?C. Pathogenic contaminants were absent but the DCU water was highly loaded with Sphingomonas rhizogenes (17.9%), Sphingomonas dokdonesis (79.5%), Sphingomonas mucosissima (1.1%) and Methylobacterium radiotolerans (1.5%). The high load of microbes that exceeded 200 cfu/ml was of great concern as it failed to meet recommendation set by the American Dental Association.
Highlights
Output water delivered through Dental Unit Waterline System (DUWS) is often highly contaminated with microorganisms [1, 2]
It has been reported that these microbes are dislodged from biofilm that tends to form within the multiple tubing of a dental chair unit
Bacteria recovered from DUWS are mainly harmless Gram-negative aerobes, their high presence in dental chair unit (DCU) water are of concern as it contradicts the general infection control practice requirement
Summary
Output water delivered through Dental Unit Waterline System (DUWS) is often highly contaminated with microorganisms [1, 2]. It has been reported that these microbes are dislodged from biofilm that tends to form within the multiple tubing of a dental chair unit. Bacteria recovered from DUWS are mainly harmless Gram-negative aerobes, their high presence in dental chair unit (DCU) water are of concern as it contradicts the general infection control practice requirement. The presence of high microbial contaminants has been associated with the high concentration of endotoxin in DUWS water [3]. Vigorous cleaning procedures of the DUWS are regularly performed to ensure good quality
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