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Background
Since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended dental practices install self-contained water bottle systems combined with chemical treatment and routine monitoring of dental unit waterlines.Retrofitting your dental units and installing water bottles is the most effective way to maintain your dental unit waterlines. Utilizing water bottles makes it easy to both shock and treat waterlines. If your operatories are directly connected to municipal water, you will not be able to effectively shock or treat the lines. While there are in-line low-level antimicrobial treatment solutions that can be installed with municipal water as the source, these alone cannot keep bacteria growth and biofilm formation from happening. So, it's essential to get water bottles installed in your units.This transition does not need to be challenging or expensive.
DCI retrofit kits retail for $190.00. You can find them in the parts catalog. You would be able to order it from your service technician at your dental supply company (i.e., Henry Schein, Patterson, Benco, etc.) and they would come to install it.
Kellie Thimmes
Director of Education, ProEdge Dental Compliance Labs
Kellie leads education at ProEdge Dental Compliance Labs, the largest dental water testing lab in the U.S., and teaches dental teams how to shock, treat and test dental unit waterlines and monitor sterilization.
