Chlorine-based DUWL disinfectant leads to a different microbial composition of water derived biofilms compared to HO-based chemical disinfectants in vitro.

Background: Biofilm formation in dental unit waterlines (DUWL) may lead to health risks for dental staff and patients. Therefore, dental unit waterlines need to be disinfected, for instance by using chemical disinfectants. However, the application of chemical disinfectants may lead to the selection of specific microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the microbial composition of water-derived biofilms, after a continuous exposure to maintenance doses of commercially available chemical disinfectants, in vitro.

Methods: The AAA-model was used to grow water derived biofilms. The biofilms were subjected to the maintenance dose of each disinfectant. To determine the microbial composition, the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced. The sequences were clustered in operational taxonomic units (OTUs).

Results: The bacterial composition of biofilms in all treatment groups differed significantly (PERMANOVA  = 4.441,  = 0.001). Pairwise comparisons revealed Anoxyl treated biofilms were significantly different from all groups ( = 0.0001). In the Anoxyl-treated biofilms, the relative abundance of and was high compared to the Dentosept, Green and Clean and Oxygenal groups.

Conclusion: We concluded that exposure to low doses of the chlorine-based chemical disinfectant Anoxyl led to a substantially different composition of water derived biofilms compared to biofilms exposed to HO-based chemical disinfectants.