Council on Dental Materials, Instruments, and Equipment

Abstract

T he concern that water retraction in dental units may compromise infection control practices has been expressed by the Council on Dental Materials, Instruments, and Equipment; the Council on Dental Therapeutics1; and the Centers for Disease Control.2'3 In an effort to assist the dental profes­ sion, the Council on Dental Materials, Instruments, and Equipm ent conducted a survey on dental units and water retrac­ tion. Inform ation on some older units (Table 1) and currently available units (Table 2) is included. The tables summa­ rize the responses from the companies. The tables indicate the m anufacturing or supply company, the model of dental unit, and the presence or absence of water retraction, the extent of water retraction (if any), whether it meets the requirement 3.5 in ANSI/ADA specification no. 47 for dental units,4 possible conversion, check valve, valve type, and whether the war­ ranty status is affected by the conversion. Requests for information on dental unit water retraction or conversion should be directed to the specific company. As the degree of risk of cross-contamina­ tion from units with water retraction is not known, it is prudent for handpieces and other items connected to the waterlines of dental units to run and discharge water into a sink or container for at least 2 m inutes after com pleting care on each patient. In addition, allow ing handpieces to run and discharge water into a sink or