Waterline testing may feel like a redundant step in your dental office procedures, especially if you already use treatment products.
However, treating your water is not enough to be compliant. Why? Because even treated water still fails. In fact, in “Treating and Monitoring Dental Water” by Nancy Dewhirst, RDH, BS and John A. Molinari, PhD, they share that:
- 31% of treated dental unit waterlines still failed to meet the CDC standard
- 61% of practices had at least one failed dental unit waterline
- 100% of treatment products had failures – fail rates ranged from 23% to 42%. 1
Without a proper testing protocol in place, you will never know whether or not your treatment is effective. The truth is that in the world of dental unit waterline (DUWL) maintenance, what you don’t know certainly can hurt you, your practice, and your patients.
The Impact of DUWL-Borne Infections
Recently, the Health Advisory released via the Health Alert Network (HAN) that was prompted by the CDC’s notification in March 2022 of an outbreak of suspected nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections in children who had undergone dental procedures at a pediatric dental clinic which is currently under investigation.2
This was following the devastating 2016 contamination at a pediatric clinic in Anaheim, California and 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia which both impacted children ranging from 4-8 years.
The contamination of dental waterlines in Anaheim resulted in the potential exposure of at least 500 pediatric patients. This exposure was followed by 221 ongoing lawsuits and 71 confirmed cases of NTM infections after pulpotomy procedures. The outbreak in Georgia led to 24 instances of mycobacterium abscessus infections in children undergoing pulpotomy treatment.
In both situations, initial tests confirmed that buildup and irregularity or complete lack of testing in the clinic’s DUWLs led to the infections.3 Sadly, these situations were entirely avoidable.
It’s important to note that even for practices that do not perform complex oral surgeries, DUWL-borne infection and illness are still possible in standard dental work.
Using Knowledge as Prevention
The good news is that understanding your waterline quality and, subsequently addressing it, doesn’t have to be time-consuming, complicated, or expensive.
Enter QuickPass®, the industry’s #1 most trusted dental water test. This in-office DUWL test is designed specifically for dental professionals and is cost-effective, convenient, and confidential. With QuickPass, the office staff can easily collect and test water samples from every operatory to get a baseline pass/fail result.
Don’t let the potential of a failing result scare you. Trust us, it’s not the first or last time we will encounter one. Our team is here to help guide you and your team from whatever your baseline is to consistently compliant results. Which protects your patients and your practice.
1 Treating and Monitoring Dental Water” by Nancy Dewhirst, RDH, BS and John A. Molinari, PhD
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Outbreaks of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infections Highlight Importance of Maintaining and Monitoring Dental Waterlines
3 CDC: Notes from the Field: Mycobacterium abscessus Infections Among Patients of a Pediatric Dentistry Practice — Georgia
