A Southern California dental clinic has been ordered to close after bacteria was found in its newly installed water system, according to the Health Care Agency of Orange County.
A water line infection at the Children's Dental Group in Anaheim had previously led to the hospitalization of 58 children who had pulpotomies at the clinic between March 14, 2016, and August 5, 2016, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
The clinic was ordered to stop using its internal water system on September 15, 2016, and was cleared to use a newly installed system on November 8, 2016. However, multiple samples taken from the newly installed water lines at the clinic tested positive for Mycobacterium, according to county officials.
The closure was necessary to determine the source of the bacteria, noted Eric Handler, MD, MPH, public health officer for the agency, in a statement. The agency is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Dental Board of California to determine the next steps to allow the clinic to reopen, he added.
