Patent ID: 6878287

Claim:
Dental equipment comprising: an arrangement of dental appliances and associated dental unit water lines; an electrolytic device arranged in fluid communication with the dental unit water lines for producing an electrolytically activated, microcidal aqueous solution for use in the elimination and control of biofilm in the dental unit water lines, the solution having a pH of between 6.75 and 10 and microcidal, anti-oxidising, dispersing and surfactant properties, the electrolytic device comprising a cylindrical through-flow, electrochemical cell having two co-axial electrodes with a co-axial diaphragm between them so as to separate an annular inter-electrode space into a cathodic and an anodic chamber, such that the electrolytic device enables the harvesting of a separate aqueous predominantly anion-containing solution and a separate aqueous predominantly cation-containing solution, and the application of such solution as two separate product streams, either simultaneously or consecutively, the electrolytic device allowing the mixing of the predominantly anion-containing and the predominantly cation-containing solutions by the separate and independent recirculation of either one or both of the predominantly anion-containing solution and the predominantly cation-containing solution through the same electrode chamber or a counter-electrode chamber so as to modulate the respective properties of the anion- and cation-containing solutions; and dispensing means fluidly connected to a source of the electrolytically activated, microcidal solution for introducing the aqueous solution into the dental unit water lines for treating the biofilm.