SynthesisBMC oral health2023
Bacterial biofilm prevalence in dental unit waterlines: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- Optimizing hydrogen peroxide shock treatment frequencies for dental unit waterlines contamination control: a pilot study.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- Implementation and Preliminary Evaluation of a Low-Cost Sodium Hypochlorite Shock Disinfection Protocol for Dental Unit Waterlines.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Long-term control ofFrontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- Biofilm Formation on Indwelling Medical Devices: A Review of Health and Economic Implications.International journal of microbiology · 2026Review
- Validity and Applicability of Introducing a Healthcare-Associated Infection Surveillance System in Dental Hospitals in Korea Using the Delphi Technique.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antimicrobial Resistance in Oral Healthcare: A Growing Concern in Dentistry.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa in dental unit waterlines: an emerging threat of virulence genes in healthcare-associated infections.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Veterinary Clinics as Reservoirs forAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Review
- Periodic detection and disinfection maintenance of dental unit waterlines in dental simulation head model laboratories.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Mycobiology of Dental Unit Water: A Systematic Scoping Review.International dental journal · 2025Article
- Decoding water quality across urban and rural dental clinics: insights from an observational study.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Article
- Effects of flushing of dental waterlines in portable dental units on water quality management.Journal of dental sciences · 2024Article
- Dental Unit Waterlines: Disinfection and Management.International dental journal · 2024Review
- The effect of different types of water sources on dental unit waterline contamination: A systematic review and meta analysis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- The importance of biofilm contamination control for dental unit waterlines: a multicenter assessment of the microbiota diversity of biofilm in dental unit waterlines.Journal of oral microbiology · 2024Article
- Dental unit waterline testing practices: an 11-Year retrospective study.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Comparative evaluation of effect of sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine in dental unit waterline on aerosolized bacteria generated during dental treatment.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundsNumerous studies have shown that dental unit water lines (DUWLs) are often contaminated by a wide range of micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoa) and various prevalence have been reported for it in previous studies. Therefore, this review study aims to describe the prevalence of bacterial biofilm contamination of DUWLs.
methodsThis is a systematic review and meta-analysis in which the related keywords in different international databases, including Medline (via PubMed) and Scopus were searched. The retrieved studies were screened and the required data were extracted from the included studies. Three standard methods including American Dental Association (ADA), The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contaminated > 100 CFU/ml(C-100) standards were used to assess the bacterial biofilm contamination of DUWLs. All studies that calculated the prevalence of bacterial biofilm contamination of DUWLs, and English full-text studies were included in the meta-analysis. Studies that did not have relevant data or used unusual laboratory methods were excluded. Methodological risk of bias was assessed by a related checklist and finally, the data were pooled by fixed or random-effect models.
resultsSeven hundred and thirty-six studies were identified and screened and 26 related studies were included in the meta-analysis. The oldest included study was published in 1976 and the most recent study was published in 2020. According to the ADA, CDC and C-100 standards, the prevalence of bacterial contamination was estimated to be 85.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 66.0-94.0%), 77.0% (95%CI: 66.0-85.0%) and 69.0% (95%CI: 67.0-71.0%), respectively. The prevalence of Legionella Pneumophila and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in DUWLs was estimated to be 12.0% (95%CI: 10.0-14.0%) and 8.0% (95%CI: 2.0-24.0%), respectively.
conclusionThe results of this review study suggested a high prevalence of bacterial biofilm in DUWLs; therefore, the use of appropriate disinfecting protocol is recommended to reduce the prevalence of contamination and reduce the probable cross-infection.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.