title: [Water-quality of Westbrabantse dental units and the effect of flushing].
abstract: Dutch literature is not very clear about whether or not the effluent water/spray of handpieces of dental units meets the Dutch standards of potable water (< 200 CFU/ml and no pathogens). To improve the quality of dental unit water, flushing or purging the waterlines is recommended. In this study the quality of the effluent water/spray of 9 dental units was measured at the beginning of the day before and after 2 minutes flushing (sample size 25 ml) and the end of the day before and after 20 seconds flushing (sample size 5 ml). All units easily met the potable water standards after 2 minutes flushing, but after 20 seconds the effect was less impressive. The overall larger number of bacteria found after 20 seconds flushing can be explained as a matter of chance, whether or not a by turbulence loosened part of the biofilm has entered the small sample taken.
authors.affiliation: teixeira@wish.net
authors.forename: R M V
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Teixeira
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003748:Dental Equipment; D003762:Dental Instruments / Q000382:microbiology*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D009426:Netherlands; D013997:Time Factors; D014871:Water Microbiology