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An 82-year-old woman in Italy died after developing Legionnaires’ disease from the water at her dentist’s office.
The disease, which is a pneumonia-like illness, came from the bacteria in the dentist’s water line. This was determined to be the only possible cause for the woman to contract the disease because in the month the woman caught the disease, she had only left her house twice during what would have the incubation period. Both of the times she left her home were to visit the dentist.
The information comes from the journal The Lancet.
The usual sources that Legionnaires’ disease come from are air conditioning systems, hot water systems, spas and fountains. But a recent study indicated that Legionella bacteria can be found in dental water lines, which isn’t surprising since these bacteria are some of the more common bacteria found in water. Legionella pneumophila is the bacteria associated with the disease.
The problem for the woman was that the standards for water lines aren’t as strict in Italy as they are in the United States. The American Dental Association has high standards for acceptable water to prevent situations such as these.
Dental water lines can’t have more than 500 colony-forming units of bacteria per milliliter, according to the ADA. This is the same standard used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s also recommended that American dentists have a water reservoir that’s a separate entity from the regular water supply.
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