Dental Unit Waterline Safety Made Easy
Water purification and waterline maintenance products from Henry Schein Brand deliver quality protection and compliance with drinking water standards
As a dentist for 25 years, Dr. Mark Hall remembers the days when cleaning waterlines was a real hassle. “Staff had to follow a calendar. If you had staff changes, that was a problem,” recalled the Kansas dentist.
Today, Dr. Hall has none of those worries due to Henry Schein Brand waterline treatment products, including Dental Unit Water Purification Cartridges and Waterline Maintenance Tablets, which maintain the closed waterline systems in his Topeka-based practice. One of his favorite features of the cartridge is a simple alert to staff when it’s time for a replacement.
“What’s nice about this product is there are indicators on the bottle that tell you when it’s time for a cleaning,” he said. “That feature brings peace of mind for me. You don’t have to be policing things.” That means gone are the days of marking calendars or worrying about waterline treatment falling through the cracks during staff turnover.
Dr. Hall has also found Henry Schein’s waterline maintenance products to be cost-effective and easy to use for his staff. Most importantly, numbers don’t lie—and regular testing has proven their efficacy in preventing biofilm buildup.
“It’s keeping the biofilm down and that’s so important,” he said. Biofilm results from the growth of bacteria, necessitating regular cleaning and disinfection. According to the FDA, contaminated dental unit waterlines pose risks for patients as well as dental professionals. Patients are at risk of infection, especially during oral surgery, while dentists and staff could be subject to inhalation of aerosols.
Both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA) recommend routine testing of multiple components of waterline systems, including connections to the water source, dental handpiece connections, and a mid-point between the two. The process is to be repeated for every waterline system in a practice. Consequently, manhours can quickly accrue.
But because Dr. Hall has seen good results using the Henry Schein waterline treatment products, his practice doesn’t have to test as often as it did previously. “I test right when the filters are changed and right before we shock,” he said. “I don’t have to test as often when I am seeing consistently low numbers. No more headaches, no more worries.”
As a 2-cartridge system, the Dental Unit Water Purification Cartridge is 40% more powerful than a single-cartridge system, effectively treating lines for up to 1 year or 240 liters. In addition, the Waterline Maintenance Tablets help meet or exceed CDC and ADA standards for clean water by up to 50 times acceptable levels.
Dr. Hall has been a faithful Henry Schein customer since he became a dentist, but it wasn’t until he moved to his new, state-of-the-art office a few years ago that he transitioned to a closed waterline system. “When I built my new office, it was so smooth, so fluid. The equipment transfer was perfect,” he said, adding that the support of his Henry Schein customer service representative was a key element to successfully implementing the system in his new location.
For more information about Henry Schein’s waterline treatment products, click here.
