{"title":"Effects of flushing of dental waterlines in portable dental units on water quality management.","authors":"Kunihiro Fushimi, Jun Watanabe, Masahiro Yamada, Jumpei Washio, Nobuhiro Takahashi, Hiroshi Egusa","doi":"10.1016/j.jds.2024.10.014","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/purpose: </strong>Daily flushing of dental unit waterlines is important for infection control. However, the effect of flushing on water quality management in portable dental units (PDUs) for mobile dental treatments remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the factors affecting the effectiveness of PDU flushing.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Free residual chlorine concentration (FRCC) and heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) in handpiece discharge water were evaluated as water quality indicators to determine the effectiveness of flushing PDUs, considering flushing duration, periods of PDU use, FRCC in the water used, pre-water drainage in water tanks and waterlines, and season. The effect of flushing on heterotrophic bacterial flora was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PDUs with longer usage periods required a longer flushing duration for FRCC recovery. FRCC reached the standard level for water quality in Japan after at least 20 s of flushing. Flushing changed heterotrophic bacterial flora close to that of fresh tap water by reducing <i>Sphingomonas</i>. Flushing with purified water or stagnant tap water with insufficient FRCC did not allow the HPCs to reach the target level. Without pre-water drainage of the water tanks and waterlines in the summer, the HPCs did not always reach the target level, even with flushing.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Periods of PDU use, pre-water drainage, water temperature, and FRCC substantially affect the effectiveness of PDU flushing. Flushing for at least 20 s with water containing appropriate free residual chlorine effectively restores the water quality of PDUs.</p>","PeriodicalId":15583,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Dental Sciences","volume":"19 Suppl 1","pages":"S61-S69"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11725118/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Dental Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jds.2024.10.014","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/10/26 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/purpose: Daily flushing of dental unit waterlines is important for infection control. However, the effect of flushing on water quality management in portable dental units (PDUs) for mobile dental treatments remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the factors affecting the effectiveness of PDU flushing.
Materials and methods: Free residual chlorine concentration (FRCC) and heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) in handpiece discharge water were evaluated as water quality indicators to determine the effectiveness of flushing PDUs, considering flushing duration, periods of PDU use, FRCC in the water used, pre-water drainage in water tanks and waterlines, and season. The effect of flushing on heterotrophic bacterial flora was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Results: PDUs with longer usage periods required a longer flushing duration for FRCC recovery. FRCC reached the standard level for water quality in Japan after at least 20 s of flushing. Flushing changed heterotrophic bacterial flora close to that of fresh tap water by reducing Sphingomonas. Flushing with purified water or stagnant tap water with insufficient FRCC did not allow the HPCs to reach the target level. Without pre-water drainage of the water tanks and waterlines in the summer, the HPCs did not always reach the target level, even with flushing.
Conclusion: Periods of PDU use, pre-water drainage, water temperature, and FRCC substantially affect the effectiveness of PDU flushing. Flushing for at least 20 s with water containing appropriate free residual chlorine effectively restores the water quality of PDUs.
期刊介绍：
he Journal of Dental Sciences (JDS), published quarterly, is the official and open access publication of the Association for Dental Sciences of the Republic of China (ADS-ROC). The precedent journal of the JDS is the Chinese Dental Journal (CDJ) which had already been covered by MEDLINE in 1988. As the CDJ continued to prove its importance in the region, the ADS-ROC decided to move to the international community by publishing an English journal. Hence, the birth of the JDS in 2006. The JDS is indexed in the SCI Expanded since 2008. It is also indexed in Scopus, and EMCare, ScienceDirect, SIIC Data Bases.
The topics covered by the JDS include all fields of basic and clinical dentistry. Some manuscripts focusing on the study of certain endemic diseases such as dental caries and periodontal diseases in particular regions of any country as well as oral pre-cancers, oral cancers, and oral submucous fibrosis related to betel nut chewing habit are also considered for publication. Besides, the JDS also publishes articles about the efficacy of a new treatment modality on oral verrucous hyperplasia or early oral squamous cell carcinoma.
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