As a busy dental professional, you probably don’t think about the water in your practice very often. And why would you? You have plenty of other things to occupy your thoughts on any given day in the practice. However, it is important to consider water quality in order to ensure the highest standard of patient care and safety, while also maximising the working life and return on investment for your decontamination equipment.
Water quality and safety
There are various reasons why water quality is important in the dental practice. The first is to protect patients and professionals from potential infection. According to HTM 01-05, registered managers of all dental practices are responsible for ensuring that the water supply, storage and distribution meets certain standards. This includes minimising the risk of Legionnaires’ disease, which can develop within the dental unit water lines (DUWL) if the relevant pathogens are allowed to colonise in stagnant water. Historical studies have established a significant risk of contamination throughout DUWLs, highlighting the importance of cleaning them sufficiently.
The Health and Safety Executive mandates that all businesses using any type of water supply where a risk of Legionella contamination exists implement adequate infection control measures. The SHTM 01-05 necessitates similar in Scotland, with both bodies requiring a named individual to be responsible for this decontamination process.
Equipment maintenance
Another reason to maintain water quality is to protect your decontamination equipment from malfunctions or breakdowns. This is especially important if you are located in an area of the UK with ‘hard’ water. Approximately 60 per cent of the nation has a high concentration of calcium and magnesium dissolved in the mains water supply, which dries down into limescale.
If you were using mains water for your dental units and handpieces, this limescale could build up and may cause problems rather quickly. Not only could your equipment stop functioning as efficiently as they should, but substantial limescale could stop it from working altogether. This could cause serious disruption to your services if it happens to essential pieces of equipment like your autoclave. Without cleaned and sterilised instruments rendered safe for reuse, patients would be inconvenienced by postponed appointments. Staff would also have more tasks to complete in addition to the stress of engaging with unhappy patients and arranging for engineers to fi x the equipment. Of course, all of this would also have financial implications for the practice, with the costs of engineer visits, spare parts and practice downtime adding up quickly.
An alternative solution
For all these reasons and more, dental practices in the UK should steer clear of using mains water to supply their equipment. One alternative solution is to use bottled water instead, but this comes with its own disadvantages. Bottled water can be expensive for the business, it is one of the least environmentally-friendly options and substantial space is required for bottle storage. Dental practices already generate unavoidable plastic waste and the use of bottled water would simply add to this unnecessarily.
A better option for most dental practices is to introduce a reverse osmosis (RO) water system. This reliably delivers safe and clean water in a cost-effi cient and sustainable way. It is also a faster solution than a water distiller, delivering more water in a shorter space of time for optimal convenience and minimal running costs. Reverse osmosis water units work by pushing tap water through a semi-permeable membrane, which removes contaminants. Everything from minerals like calcium and carbonate to totally dissolved solids (TDSs), bacteria and microorganisms are effectively removed from the water. Leading equipment combines the use of UV light technology to further ensure the highest water quality possible.
The WRAS-approved RO Water System from Eschmann affords all these benefi ts and more, quickly and effi ciently producing water in compliance with HTM 01-05 and SHTM 01-05 guidance compared to alternative methods. The 12-litre water tank comes as standard, and a 60-litre version is available to meet the needs of larger practices.
Water quality might not be an everyday topic of conversation for the dental team with so many other aspects to think about. However, it is crucial for patient safety and equipment longevity. RO water systems provide a reliable, cost-effective, sustainable and fast solution.
For more information visit www.eschmann.co.uk