Ensuring water quality can be a challenge for dental clinics, according to NPR.
Here's what you need to know:
1. The Orange County Health Care Agency in California recently announced that more than 20 children may have developed a bacterial infection after receiving dental care.
2. The infections were caused by Mycobacterium abscessus, a type of bacteria that the agency also found in the water patients rinse their teeth with at a dental clinic in Anaheim, Calif.
3. All of the infected children were hospitalized. Since this bacterial infection cannot be treated with antibiotics, treatment requires surgical removal of the infected tissue.
4. Similarly, more than 20 children in Georgia were hospitalized with bacterial infections caused by Mycobacterium abscessus after dental care last year.
5. Ensuring clean, bacteria-free waterlines is a challenge for dental offices. A study in Pathogens and Disease found fungi, bacteria and viruses in dental unit waterlines — even in clinic's that were using industry-standard decontamination techniques.
6. At present, although the CDC and American Dental Association encourage dentists to meet standards for water quality, the organizations do not specify how often water should be tested.