Noopan Sarocha, Unchui Phattranit, Techotinnakorn Supitcha, Ampornaramveth Ruchanee Salingcarnboriboon
Research Unit on Oral Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Int J Dent. 2019 Jul 30;2019:5720204. doi: 10.1155/2019/5720204. eCollection 2019.
To investigate the effectiveness of plasma sterilization in reducing bacterial contamination and controlling biofilms in dental unit waterlines.
Ten identical dental chair units (DCUs) were used. Five DCUs were installed with an automated plasma sterilization system (PSS) and the other five were kept as nontreated controls (CTL). Water flushed from the airotor line served as the output water of the dental unit waterlines (DUWLs). Water samples were collected at the beginning and on a weekly basis for 4 months. Water was analyzed for bacterial contamination (CFU/mL). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the amount of biofilm in the waterlines. Biofilm viability was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. All statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney test. A value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
The DCU output water was found to be heavily contaminated with bacteria. Plasma sterilization effectively reduced bacterial contamination from an average of 212 CFU/mL to 8 CFU/mL. During the entire period of 4 months, the level remained below 500 CFU/mL, the standard level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the USA. The reduction in the bacterial count was significant compared with the CTL group ( < 0.05). Plasma sterilization could not eradicate the existing biofilms in the waterlines, and it did reduce biofilm mass and viability. Moreover, treatment with plasma sterilization did not induce a change in the composition of microorganisms, as analyzed by Gram staining.
Plasma sterilization, which is part of electrochemically activated water, effectively reduces bacterial contamination and reduces biofilms in dental unit waterlines.
研究等离子体灭菌在减少牙科设备水线细菌污染及控制生物膜方面的有效性。
使用了10个相同的牙科治疗椅单元（DCU）。其中5个DCU安装了自动等离子体灭菌系统（PSS），另外5个作为未处理对照（CTL）。从气涡轮管路冲洗出的水作为牙科设备水线（DUWL）的输出水。在开始时以及之后的4个月内每周采集水样。分析水样中的细菌污染情况（CFU/mL）。使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）研究水线中的生物膜量。通过3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基)-2,5-二苯基-2H-四唑溴盐（MTT）测定评估生物膜活力。所有统计分析均采用曼-惠特尼检验。P<0.05被认为具有显著性。
发现DCU输出水被细菌严重污染。等离子体灭菌有效地将细菌污染从平均212 CFU/mL降至8 CFU/mL。在整个4个月期间，该水平保持在美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）推荐的标准水平500 CFU/mL以下。与CTL组相比，细菌计数的降低具有显著性（P<0.05）。等离子体灭菌无法根除水线中现有的生物膜，但确实减少了生物膜的量和活力。此外，通过革兰氏染色分析，等离子体灭菌处理并未引起微生物组成的变化。
作为电化学活化水一部分的等离子体灭菌，可有效减少牙科设备水线中的细菌污染并减少生物膜。
