You may have heard in the recent news about 30 child patients that acquired a bacterial infection from contaminated water in a pediatric dentistry office in Anaheim, California. All of the children who were being treated were receiving a pulpotomy treatment, or baby tooth root canals, immediately before developing the infection. The infection called Mycobacterium abscesses causes swelling, redness, and pain around the infected area and requires treatment. It is believed that the bacteria grew in stagnant water that wasn’t flushed properly through the water lines in the dental office. Since the water was being used during these treatments, the infected water got trapped when the tooth was capped and the bacteria inside led to the infection.
We wanted to post this article to help put the minds of our patients and parents at rest as we at Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have been taking protective measures against this very problem for years. Have you ever wondered how we keep all the dental waterlines in our office clean? In the past, we had to flush our water lines and apply special tablets to the water bottles that store our treatment water. Now, we use a revolutionary product that has unmatched effectiveness in providing clean water for our patients. It is called a Sterisil Straw and it continuously disinfects dental unit water lines.
The Sterisil Straw works by continuously disinfecting our dental unit water bottles and water lines to provide safe and clean water for our patients and staff. The straws that we use in our office are changed regularly as recommended by the manufacturer. These same straws are used at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and on virtually every military base and VA clinic throughout the world due to their known effectiveness. Our straws take the bacteria biofilm content down to less than 10 CFU (colony forming units) per mL, which is 50 times lower than the ADA recommendation!
We want our patients to know that we take their safety seriously and the recent news on this topic warranted this post to better educate you of what we are doing behind the scenes to make sure you or your child is healthy and protected during their dental care. If you have any questions concerning this issue, we will be happy to discuss this with you further.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Delaney, Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Preferred Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
