Abstract
Mobile dental delivery systems (MDDSs) are receiving growing interest for reaching isolated patients, as well as in dental care for fragile and hospitalized patients, with the advantage of being able to be used from room to room or during general anesthesia (GA) in an operating room. Therefore, ensuring the care safety is crucial. The aim of this study was to elaborate and assess an MDDS maintenance protocol, containing the management of dental unit waterlines and adapted to specific conditions such as dental care under GA. A step-by-step protocol was established and implemented for an MDDS used during dental care under GA in children. Samples of the output water were collected at J0, J+1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, and cultured to observe the microbiological quality of the water. All the results (heterotrophic plate count at 22 °C, at 37 °C, and specific pathogenic germs sought) showed an absence of contamination. The protocol presented was effective over time and allowed ensuring the safety of care to be ensured when using MDDS, even during dental procedures under GA. As a result, it could be implemented by any dental care delivery structure wanting to reinforce the safety of its practice.
Highlights
Even if most dental procedures are performed in private practices, mobile dental delivery systems (MDDSs) (Figure 1) are receiving growing interest in the field of dentistry [1,2]
If previous studies showed good results of maintenance protocols applied to fixed dental units and dental chairs [29,44,46], the challenge was here to adapt a protocol to Mobile dental delivery systems (MDDSs) for which water disinfectants are not used during dental procedures
The protocol that we described is the first one ever described in the literature regarding the maintenance of MDDSs
Summary
Even if most dental procedures are performed in private practices, mobile dental delivery systems (MDDSs) (Figure 1) are receiving growing interest in the field of dentistry [1,2]. MDDSs enable some barriers to accessibility to be broken, such as geographical barriers: patients from rural communities, isolated areas, etc. [1,2,3,4]; socio-economic barriers: children and elderly from families with low socio-economic status [1], patients medically underserved in poor urban areas [1], immigrants [1,5], homeless people [1]; and health barriers: vulnerable patients at home or in care facilities [1], hospitalized patients [1,3], and elderly patients [1,3]. Public Health 2020, 17, 1603; doi:10.3390/ijerph17051603 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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