IDENTIFICATION OF MINERALIZATION IN CLEAN AND BIO-FILM CONTAMINATED DENTAL UNIT WATER LINES

Dental unit water lines at two U.S. Air Force clinics were sectioned and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersed X-ray analyzer. The water lines exhibited three distinct morphologies labeled lakes, hills, and mountains. The lakes were uncontaminated plastic dental lines; the hills were bio-film containing primarily copper with small amounts of nickel and zinc; and the mountains, which possessed high concentrations of nickel along with lesser amounts of copper and zinc, were found in dental lines that were clear of the bio-film.