Safe water to drink, bathe, cook and wash our clothing in is something most of us take for granted. Using clean water in your dental practice can be taken for granted as well!
On December 14, 2016, the city of Corpus Christi issued a city-wide water notice to all residents to discontinue the use of all tape water until testing showed it was safe. Earlier that afternoon, the city received a call about dirty water in the downtown area. Crews investigating traced it back to two industrial companies.
It appears that a backflow preventer was inadequate or failed all
together. Due to this, it was recommended that all residents use bottled
water for all of their needs. In addition to drinking and food
preparation, they should use bottled water for bathing and hand washing
as well. Unfortunately, boiling, freezing or adding disinfectants still would not make the water safe.
It
was found that the chemical (Indulin AA86), an asphalt emulsifier, got
into the water supply. Unfortunately, a boil-water advisory was not good
enough this time because of the chemical contamination. An advisory is a
public health announcement and typically issued when bacteria enters
the water supply and the state or local department issues a boil-water
advisory.
Whether a city bans all water usage or places a
boil-water advisory, it’s a big deal and can greatly impact your dental
practice!
First you must determine what kind of water system you
have. An open system (no water bottle) is directly connected to the
municipal water source. If this is the case, you cannot use the water during treatment until the advisory is cancelled and the lines are thoroughly flushed (see instructions below).
A
closed system uses a removable water bottle that attaches to the dental
unit. These bottles are typically filled with distilled or bottled
water. You can proceed as normal using a closed system as long as the
water is not coming from a municipal water source.
CLICK HERE for the rest of this article and TIPS on how to handle a water restriction/ban in your area!