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Finnish Company’s Microbes Expand from Pipelines to Dental Care – Incentive from Bad Indoor Air Quality (Tekniikka & Talous magazine 30.8.2017)

Tekniikka & Talous 30.8.2017 Matti Keränen

Finnish startup company ProtectPipe is launching a pilot project where the microbe solution developed by the company and the University of Helsinki is tested as an answer to the mold problems that dental care facilities suffer from.

The bacteria in the microbe solution break the organic waste buildup in amalgam separators down to water and carbon dioxide.

The pilot takes place in the Itäkeskus office of Attendo dental care. The reason behind the experiment is the office’s employees showing symptoms related to bad indoor air quality. The cause for the symptoms was found to be mold, which was initially presumed to lie in the structures of the office room. The true cause for the symptoms was eventually found to lie in the suction system of the dentist’s office.

The pilot project lasts for six months. The results have been promising.

“The difference in the condition of the amalgam separator compared to earlier is significant”, says Eetu Mäkinen from JH Hammastuote Oy.

An amalgam separator is required for all dental care facilities. Its function is to prevent amalgam from ending up in the drain along with the saliva, blood and other organic matter sucked from the mouth. Organic waste buildup in the amalgam separators makes them the single most malfunctioning piece of equipment in dental clinics.

Currently the maintenance work relies on very strong, toxic chemicals, that aim to kill the organic matter that ends up in the separator. In practice the currently used chemicals do not completely remove the organic waste from the equipment.

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