Biomaterial Database

Water quality in water lines of dental units in the public dental health service in Göteborg, Sweden. 2009

Gunnar Dahlén, and Elna Alenäs-Jarl, and Gunilla Hjort

Department of Oral Microbiology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden. dahlen@odontologi.gu.se

Presence of bacteria in high levels in the water lines of dental units is well known. The extent of this problem is however less well studied.This study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of all dental units within the Public Dental Health Service (Folktandvården, FTV) of the city of Göteborg, Sweden. 405 dental units in 35 clinics were tested.The evaluation included both "fast growing" (2 days incubation) and "slow growing" (7 days incubation) bacteria in 50 ml water sample from the units. The presence of potential pathogens, e.g., coliforms, Pseudomonas spp and Legionella pneumophila were also examined. Of the 405 dental units, 303 (75%) did not have acceptable (<100 CFU/ml fast growing and <5000 CFU/ml of slow growing bacteria) water quality. From 61 (15%) dental units in 13 clinics L. pneumophila were present but usually as few cells only. Immediate measures were introduced in Legionella positive units. No coliforms or Pseudomonas spp were detected. It can be concluded that the water in the dental units is generally not acceptable and does not fulfill drinking water standard. Many units have extremely high bacterial levels, which must be regarded as a risk for certain patient groups, e.g., immune-compromised and older patients. A general program for desinfection of all units of the Public Dental Health Service is needed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011636	Public Health Dentistry	A dental specialty concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of oral health through promoting organized dental health programs at a community, state, or federal level.	Dentistry, Public Health
D003740	Dental Clinics	Facilities where dental care is provided to patients.	Clinics, Dental,Clinic, Dental,Dental Clinic
D003748	Dental Equipment	The nonexpendable items used by the dentist or dental staff in the performance of professional duties. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p106)	Equipment, Dental,Dental Equipments,Equipments, Dental
D004866	Equipment Contamination	The presence of an infectious agent on instruments, prostheses, or other inanimate articles.	Contamination, Equipment,Contaminations, Equipment,Equipment Contaminations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001419	Bacteria	One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.	Eubacteria
D012307	Risk Factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.	Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor
D013048	Specimen Handling	Procedures for collecting, preserving, and transporting of specimens sufficiently stable to provide accurate and precise results suitable for clinical interpretation.	Specimen Collection,Collection, Specimen,Collections, Specimen,Handling, Specimen,Handlings, Specimen,Specimen Collections,Specimen Handlings
D013548	Sweden	Country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Norway. The capital is Stockholm.
D014871	Water Microbiology	The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.	Microbiology, Water