Why is Distilled Water Better to Use Than Tap Water in Dental Units?

Distilled water is most certainly better to use in your dental units than tap water. The reason is simple. Tap water can be contaminated with harmful biological contaminants, while distilled water has gone through the most thorough sterilization process available.

We recommend that you use distilled water because the first step to preventing bacterial contamination is to not introduce dangerous biological contaminants into your water lines. Any waterborne bacteria that are introduced into your dental unit water lines can multiply and become part of a resistant colony (biofilm) that is difficult to remove. This can pose a patient safety risk. There is evidence to show that biological contamination of tap water is much greater than previously known.

Here are some facts…

  • At any given time you don’t know if tap water is biologically contaminated.
  • If you are using a filter or reverse osmosis system you must stop using it during the contamination, remove and dispose of all filters, completely sterilize the system and then replace the filters after the contamination has passed. This is not true of a distillation system.
  • Fecal Coliform (E. Coli) and other disease-causing fecal matter. Violations of federal fecal coliform standards were reported by 2,726 systems serving 11.9 million people*.
  • Chronic Coliform Bacteria, a measure of overall contamination of treated tap water with microbes, parasites, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Violations of federal chronic coliform bacteria standards were reported by 12,246 systems serving more than 24 million people*.
  • Inadequate Disinfection and Failure to Filter. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires water systems that rely on rivers or reservoirs to adequately filter and disinfect the water. Failure to meet this standard can result in serious disease outbreaks. Violations of EPA standards for filtration and disinfection were reported by 1,478 systems serving more than 20 million people*.

So what is distilled water?

Distilled water is water that has been boiled, sterilized and purified through the process of thermal phase change. The sterilization process of Dental Purity™ Water Distillers is unparalleled by any other products on the market.

  1. Prolonged boiling. Distillation boils tap water for a prolonged period, which is recognized by health departments around the world, FEMA and the American Red Cross as an extremely effective method for sterilizing water.
  2. Capture the pure steam. The process of distillation goes then captures only the pure steam. The steam is separated from the contaminants and cooled back down into pure, distilled water.
  3. Air gap. The distilled water is separated from the tap water by an air gap. If you would like to do further research on this subject, we recommend the book The Blue Death by Dr. Robert Morris and the tap water database at www.ewg.org. * Facts refer to tap water in the USA during the period 1994-1995 and are sourced from the Environmental Working Group publication titled “Just Add Water”. Download it for free from www.ewg.org.