Samina Zahir, Huma Zahir, Zainab Khurshid, Qazi Waheed Ullah, Shamim Akhther.
Is flushing of dental water lines effective in removing microbial contaminants?.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;36(2):305-7.

Study was done to determine the role of flushing in removal of free-living protozoa, Legionella spp. and heterotrophic plate count bacteria from water used in dental water lines. The samples for the study were taken from three private dental clinics, one public sector and one private dental hospitals in Peshawar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. At each dental care setting, a sample was taken from dental lines at time zero and then three minutes after flushing them. The samples obtained were thereafter analyzed quantitatively for heterotrophic bacteria by utilizing aerobic pour plate employing Plate Count Agar (PCA); for Legionella spp. by employing molecular procedure involving PCR whereas killed bacteria plate procedure was carried out in order to look for free living protozoa. The results of the study showed that the process of flushing was very effective in reducing the level of bacteria in dental water lines. The technique was more effective in case of high speed air turbine hand piece followed by ultrasonic scalar, triple syringe and oral rinse source respectively. However, the flushing method was not effective in reducing the level of free-living protozoa and Legionella spp. It was concluded that flushing dental water lines are quite effective in reducing level of bacterial content. Nevertheless, it is not the method to rely upon as a sole technique but should be complemented by other methods in order to improve the quality of water being used during dental procedures.

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