Product Spotlight: Straw V2

STERISIL, INC

Straw V2

Keep your patients and team healthy and confi dent with this simple, effective method of disinfecting waterlines

"Is my dentist’s water safe?"" If any of your patients posed this question today to Siri, Alexa, or Google, they would get access to more than 3 million sources of information—some legitimate and reliable, and many…not so much.

Biofilm 101
Chances are, you’ve already seen patients who’ve expressed concerns about the practice’s dental unit waterline (DUWL) quality. And what they’ve read or heard probably includes a discussion of biofilm, which many people talk about but few understand.

OSAP’s definition of biofilm, which accumulates on the inner surface of dental equipment tubing, is “a community of bacterial cells and other microbes that adhere to surfaces and form a protective slime layer. Found in virtually all places where moisture meets a suitable solid surface, biofilm can contain many types of bacteria as well as fungi, algae, protozoa, and nematodes…Individual organisms, or even portions of the biofilm near the surface, break off into flowing water. In dental waterlines, this can result in contaminated coolant and irrigating solutions.”

Bacterial biofilm is virtually universal in untreated DUWLs and can actually begin forming in a new dental unit within days. A range of options are available to significantly reduce biofilm and dramatically improve the safety of DUWL water. Many protocols involve administering treatments or managing systems on a daily basis—an effective yet time-consuming solution. What if there were a solution that provided a year’s worth of DUWL disinfection? Enter Sterisil Straw V2, which provides effective silver-based waterline treatment for 365 days.

Long-Lasting Disinfection
As with all Sterisil products, the Straw V2’s built-in shock treatment releases automatically to kill pre-existing, odor-causing bacteria down to ≤10 CFU/mL. That’s 50 times lower than ADA and CDC guidelines, and 20 times more effective than the top competing straw product. Residual silver is continuously released and maintains bacterial content for the life of the Straw V2.

STERISIL’S PATENTED RESIDUAL SILVER DISINFECTANT IS NONTOXIC, NONCORROSIVE, AND FULLY COMPLIANT WITH MERCURY AMALGAM BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.

Installation, which takes about a minute, is simpler than ever and no longer requires a technician, thanks to a new Luer Lock fitting. When it’s time to replace, the user simply twists the straw off the fitting and installs a new one in its place. A relieved bottom cap prevents water flow issues, and a tapered top cap reduces snagging on the inside of the bottle during refills.

Sterisil’s patented residual silver disinfectant is nontoxic, noncorrosive, and fully compliant with best management practices for mercury amalgam. The Straw V2 does not contain oxidizers that have been shown to release mercury into dental wastewater. The Straw V2, which has versions available for distilled or municipal water, can be discarded into the regular trash or recycled through Sterisil’s free recycling program.

Customer Support
Sterisil provides the ultimate compliance solution by employing a team of experts and selling products that promote the highest level of safety for both patients and clinicians.

The company remains committed to customers long after purchases are made. It maintains a national network of waterline specialists that provide compliance guidance and customer service customized to an individual practice’s needs. Additionally, Sterisil has an internal customer service team available for further support.

Solutions for Waterline Treatment
Sterisil offers several other systems for treating DUWL water, from Citrisil daily maintenance tablets to the System G5 that provides Class A UV light irradiation, EPA-registered disinfectant, and full live diagnostics. All prevent odor-causing bacteria and biofilm from growing in the first place—improving the overall quality of DUWL water.

Summing up the rationale for incorporating an easy-to-use, effective waterline disinfection solution, Dental College of Georgia faculty member Dr. Kevin Plummer, an advisor to the college’s Infection Control and Hazards Committee, notes, “By controlling the biofilm formation in DUWLs with effective treatment, testing the water quality at the point of delivery, and staying current with DUWL contamination evidence, patients and employees can be assured that this important healthcare standard is addressed for their safety.”