Dental Water Lines – Part 2

This is a continuation of the column from last week with regards to the issues involving the water used in a dental office. The information was obtained from the ADA website.
Is the water in my dentist’s office safe?
Scientific reports have not linked illness with water passing through dental waterlines. However, patients should feel free to ask their dentist about the quality of their dental treatment water or any other aspect of their practice. To help reduce the number of microorganisms in treatment water, the Association recommends that dentists follow the infection control guidelines of the CDC and ADA. This is in addition to other precautions that your dentist may have in place.
How soon will dentists have devices meeting this new (200 CFU/mL) goal in their offices?
The current trend is toward dental units with features to enhance water quality. The FDA has recently cleared a number of new products to improve water quality and time is needed to evaluate their effectiveness. That’s why the ADA is continuing its leadership in education and research in this area. The ADA strongly urges manufacturers to submit their devices for dental unit waterline use to the ADA Seal of Acceptance Program for scientific evaluation, which allows dentists to choose products with even greater confidence.
The product I currently use is specially formulated to be continuously present in the dental water lines and keeps lines clean. An effervescing tablet is added to a self contained water bottle each time it is refilled. Achieving clean water can really be that easy.
Does the ADA oppose government regulations on this issue–even if legislators adopt the ADA’s own goal?
Yes. The ADA favors a voluntary goal and strongly opposes any effort to turn a scientific goal into a legal dictate. The dental profession has an excellent, proactive record on this and other safety issues. In fact, the dental profession has led the way when it comes to improving water quality. Because of the ADA statement issued in 1995, the research and dental industries have responded very positively to this issue. The number of products (approximately 25) cleared by the FDA for improving water quality reflects this response.
What should patients know about waterlines?
Patients should always feel free to ask their dentist about water quality or any other aspect of their practice. Patients also should inform their dentist of any health problems and medications they might be taking so the patient and dentist can make the right treatment decisions.
This may be a small aspect that you never considered when going to the dentist. I am sure that most patients are concerned about proper sterilization of instruments and receiving treatment in a clean office. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the water being sprayed into your mouth is clean?