Bacteriological Safety of Water Filters for Dental Units: Evalutation of the Filtration Action against S. Aureus and E. Coli

Introduction: The safety and control of water for clinical use are of critical importance in dental practice, infact itis needed to cool and irrigate instruments, burs and oral tissues during treatment. Cross - contamination linked to operative procedures is a threat to the health of clinician sad patients with considerable risk of infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial filtration of the water of a medical device applied to a dental unit. Methods: A total of 6 new nano - reticular filters were analysed at different operating times to observe their filtration capability and performances in comparison to 6 used filters.   The sterilizing efficacy of the filter under test was analyzed towards bacterial loads S. aureus and E.coli, with known titer using two categories of filters: new and used with different operating times verifying the bacterial load present in the outgoing water, since a contaminated 2 litres solution was previously injected. Statistical analysis was performed using the Shapiro - Wilk test and Stat view software from SAS Institute. Results: The outcome of the evaluation shows that both the used and new filters had highlighted a highly capability of bacterial filtration that attested 99.9999% in the volume analysed. A statistical difference was found in the bacterial water contamination before and after filtration. (P = 0.000000). No statistical different were observed between new and used filters. (P = 0.96239). Conclusions: The durability and the efficiency of the filters at different times were positive in controlling cross-contamination and risk of infection during dental procedures.