Hello, this is Koo

Hello, this is KOO.

These days, there’s growing interest in how clean dental treatment water really is—and how much biofilm builds up inside the waterlines.

But for me, this issue isn’t new. It’s something I’ve been concerned about for more than two decades. 

It all started back in 1997. At that time, most dental clinics used what we affectionately called the “Cola Tank.” You’d open the lid, pour in tap water, close it, and use compressed air to push the water into the dental unit chair.

However, this system had more than a few problems.

If the water ran out mid-treatment, you had to stop the procedure. When the tank was completely empty, air and water would sputter out from the cuspidor, often splashing the patient’s clothes. And since the water was unfiltered tap water, debris frequently clogged the handpiece.

# I’ll Fix It for You.”

One day, I was having lunch with a dentist friend. He sighed and said,
 “This Cola Tank is driving me crazy every time I treat patients.” 
Without much thought, I replied, “Let me fix that for you.”

 "Let me fix that for you." 

I had always been confident when it came to mechanical things. 

So, as soon as I got back, I started building a prototype.

I designed a system that connected directly to the water supply, added a filter in the middle, and stabilized the water pressure. After a few rounds of tinkering and testing, the results were excellent—there was enough water, no splashing, and the handpiece didn’t clog anymore. 

The dentist said, “You should really turn this into a product,” and that single comment became the starting point of a whole new journey for me.

# Technology Born from Inconvenience

The device I created to replace the Cola Tank brought two major improvements to dental clinics:

It was a small idea, but it made a big impact on both efficiency and hygiene in dental treatments.
That was also the moment when the name “DENTOZONE” first began to take shape.

# Simple Filtration Wasn’t Enough – The Unexpected Truth KOO Discovered

As I mentioned earlier, the automatic water supply system I installed to replace the old Cola Tank received enthusiastic feedback. 
No more refilling tanks by hand, and fewer handpiece clogs. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

To operate a dental handpiece properly,

a certain level of water pressure is required—usually around 2.0–2.5 kgf/cm². 
The problem was that most dental clinics, both then and now, are located on the 2nd or 3rd floor of buildings.
Whenever someone below used water, the pressure would drop suddenly, making it unstable.

To solve this, I added a booster pump, a pressure gauge, a main valve for leak prevention, and even a control panel so users could easily check the system status at a glance. In short, it became a complete system tailored to the essential needs of dental practice.

The feedback from dentists exceeded expectations. “Since installing this system, my treatments have become so much smoother.” Hearing those words made me genuinely proud—and gave me the confidence to expand the supply of my products in earnest.

# But Then, Something Strange Happened.

One day, at Wonjin Green Hospital in Guri, an unexpected problem occurred. 
Both the drinking water purifier and the dental water system were connected to the same tap water line. 
Yet, while the drinking water showed zero bacterial contamination, the dental water system revealed countless bacteria.

“That doesn’t make any sense…” 
At first, I couldn’t believe it myself. 
How could the same tap water be perfectly clean on one side, but teeming with bacteria on the other?
As someone with a background in chemical engineering, I was deeply shocked by this result—it simply defied scientific logic.

# Dirtier Than Toilet Water?

While researching for data one day, I came across a U.S. news program from ABC’s 20/20, a current affairs show similar to Korea’s PD Note.

What I heard in that broadcast was truly shocking:

“The water used in dental treatments contains more bacteria than toilet water.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. 
Could that really be true? 

But it wasn’t an exaggeration. 
It turned out that dental water contamination was a serious global issue.
And the real cause wasn’t the tap water itself — the problem lay elsewhere.

# The Secret of Water Quality Was Hidden Inside the Pipes

That’s when I realized —

the problem wasn’t the tap water itself, but the structure of the water lines.
The real issue lay in the path the water took.

The answer lay inside the dental unit’s internal waterline system. The pipes that supply water to the handpiece or scaler are extremely narrow, with an inner diameter of just 1–2 mm and a length of over 1.5 meters. In other words, although they look small and slim on the outside, their surface area relative to volume is huge, and because water flows slowly through them, it tends to stagnate for long periods.

In such an environment, biofilm naturally forms — a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. So no matter how clean the incoming water is, the moment it passes through those pipes, it becomes contaminated by bacteria. In short, the problem wasn’t the water itself, but the very structure of the piping system.

Once I discovered this truth, everything started to look different. And I became certain of one thing: 
“Simple filtration alone can never solve the problem of dental treatment water.”

# I’m going to solve this problem myself.

From that moment on, KOO’s laboratory officially began its mission —the long journey toward creating biofilm-free dental water.

Dental Treatment Water — This Problem Didn’t Start Yesterday

In truth, the issue of dental treatment water quality is relatively recent in the public eye.
 Even within the dental community, it wasn’t until the early 1960s that the topic was first mentioned — and for decades after that, it received little attention.


Then, in the 1990s, a tragic incident changed everything: a dentist in the United States died after being infected with Legionella bacteria.
This marked a turning point, revealing that the problem was not just about hygiene — it was a matter of life and death.
 Since then, the ADA (American Dental Association) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have established official standards for dental water quality.

Here’s how the timeline unfolds:

• 1963: Dr. Blake first reports contamination inside dental unit waterlines
• 1987: Two patients in the UK infected after dental treatment
• 1990: Case of Legionella contamination in dental unit tubing reported
• 1991: Studies highlight the impact of biofilm on water quality

• 1994: Bacterial concentration reaches 1,000,000 CFU/mL in dental unit lines (new units: 200,000 CFU/mL within 5 days)
• 1995: ADA recommends standard dental treatment water quality — below 200 CFU/mL
• 1997: Dentist in the U.S. dies from Legionella infection
• 2003: CDC recommends dental treatment water meet EPA drinking water standards (below 500 CFU/mL)

# Why Is Dental Treatment Water Quality So Important?

Dental treatment water isn’t just for rinsing — it plays a vital role in cooling and cleaning during procedures. When a high-speed handpiece or scaler operates to cut or clean a tooth, it generates significant frictional heat. The treatment water cools this heat and washes away debris at the same time.

However, this water is sprayed directly into the patient’s mouth. During treatment, it mixes with saliva and other fluids, pooling inside the oral cavity. If not properly suctioned, the patient inevitably ends up swallowing it. 

For children, the elderly, or those with weakened immune systems, this contaminated water isn’t just unpleasant — it can pose a serious health risk.

# The Problem Isn’t Just About Handpieces or Scalers

You might think,

“It’s not a surgery—just a scaling procedure. How dangerous could it be?”

But the truth is quite different.

Even during a simple scaling, the gums often bleed microscopically. 
That means a pathway opens for bacteria to enter the bloodstream. 
If contaminated water is sprayed at that moment, bacteria can spread through the circulatory system.

Worse still, the water sprayed during treatment becomes aerosolized— tiny droplets that float in the air and can be inhaled by the medical staff. In other words, contaminated dental water doesn’t just endanger patients— it also puts the dental team at risk.

Imagine a highly sanitized dental clinic— 
the room disinfected, gloves and masks perfectly in place—

and yet, the water from the handpiece entering a patient’s mouth is teeming with bacteria. 
That’s a deeply unsettling contradiction. 
No amount of surface cleaning or protective gear can compensate if the very water used for treatment isn’t clean. 
That’s why KOO keeps asking: 
“Is your treatment water truly safe?” 
And to answer that question, 
I spent years keeping my lab lights on late into the night.

Have you ever seen a sign that says “Please avoid swallowing the water during treatment” at a dental clinic?

To address bacterial contamination, some clinics dissolve or dilute chemical tablets into their treatment water. 
But those chemicals always come with that same warning— “Please avoid swallowing the water during treatment.”

Think about it— this water is sprayed directly into a patient’s mouth, yet it’s not safe to swallow. 
That means it’s not truly safe at all.

And it gets worse. 

When those disinfectant chemicals are sprayed through a handpiece, they become airborne as aerosols. 

Dental staff can then inhale these particles, leading to potential secondary exposure. 

So in the end, it’s not just the patient who’s at risk— the clinicians themselves can also become victims.

# Even Machines Can Suffer Damage

There’s another point that’s often overlooked — the lifespan of the equipment itself.

The chemical disinfectants used in dental units can corrode the internal parts of the chair, such as packings, valves, and connectors.

Over time, this leads to equipment failure or water leakage —a problem that many clinics have already experienced firsthand. 

In the end, adding chemicals directly into the treatment water isn’t a kind solution —not for the patient, not for the clinicians, and not for the equipment.

A true solution was needed.

So the question became clear:

“Then what should we do?” And I already knew the answer.

The water sprayed into a patient’s mouth must never be contaminated.

That’s not a matter of choice — it’s a responsibility.

 From that conviction came the realization that we needed more than just filtration.

We needed a sterilized water supply system —one capable of preventing bacterial growth at its very source.

# How Can We Create Sterilized Water?

There are, in fact, many ways to produce sterilized water.

Some are inexpensive and easy to produce, but they can be highly toxic or corrosive.
Others are safer but difficult to generate or costly to maintain. 
Among all these methods, I needed to find one that was powerful yet safe, and perfectly suited for the dental environment.
That search ultimately led to the birth of DENTOZONE.

# DENTOZONE: Declaring War on Contaminated Dental Water

Supplying safe treatment water to both patients and clinicians wasn’t simply about improving equipment —
it was about protecting the overall health of the dental environment.
So I made up my mind.
“If no one else will solve this problem, then I will.”And in 1999, the first DENTOZONE system was born.

# How DENTOZONE Was Born

The name DENTOZONE comes from a combination of “Dental” and “Ozone.” As the name suggests, it was the first system to introduce ozone sterilization technology into dental treatment water.

This approach went far beyond simple filtration it gave the treatment water itself sterilizing power. At the time, that was a truly groundbreaking innovation.

# Ozone or UV? Don’t Get Them Mixed Up.

Many people confuse ozone sterilization with UV sterilization, but the two are completely different.

And once its job is done, ozone naturally reverts back to oxygen.
So, while UV sterilization is static and localized,
ozone sterilization generates water that maintains its sterilizing effect as it flows through the system.And once its job is done, ozone naturally reverts back to oxygen.

# RO Purification + Ozone Sterilization — And the Real Results

DENTOZONE was fundamentally designed around a high-performance RO (Reverse Osmosis) purification system.

# Purified Water, But… Not Enough of It?

The first DENTOZONE system introduced the RO (Reverse Osmosis) purification method,which infused ozone sterilization into ultra-purified water.
It was designed to remove every possible impurity —bacteria, ions, and even heavy metals — and then give that pure water sterilizing power.
It perfectly embodied our philosophy: “Dental water must be absolutely clean.” 

But as time went on, an unexpected issue arose. 

Everything worked perfectly — except for one thing: there wasn’t enough water.
More and more dentists began voicing the same concern: 

“It’s okay if the purification isn’t as intense — just please make sure there’s enough water.”

That on-site feedback was impossible to ignore.
Despite years of optimization, the water shortage problem became an urgent challenge that demanded a new solution.

# When We Increased Water Output, Quality Collapsed

To solve the water shortage, 
I eventually decided to shift from RO (Reverse Osmosis) to UF (Ultrafiltration, 0.01-micron membrane).
UF produced water much faster and in greater volume than RO, but its filtration capability couldn’t completely remove bacteria and ions.

As a result, the overall purity of the water declined,and because of residual impurities, the ozone sterilization efficiency was also reduced.

Furthermore, ozone had its own limitations —at high concentrations, it could affect the human body,while at low concentrations, its sterilizing effect weakened.

That’s when I realized:

“This method alone isn’t enough. We need a true solution that balances performance and practicality.”

# So KOO returned to the lab once again.

In 2006, DENTOZONE began developing a completely new type of dental water quality management system.
This time, we needed a solution that could go beyond ozone—a method capable of continuously giving the water itself strong sterilizing power.

The answer was plasma technology.

After more than two years of research, and with support from a government project funded by the Small and Medium Business Administration, 
We succeeded in developing the world’s first plasma-based dental water quality management system.

The DENTOZONE Plasma System was inspired by disinfected drinking-water generation technology used for astronauts.
Since all natural water contains 10–250 ppm of dissolved salts, the DENTOZONE Plasma System applies electrical energy to these salts to generate plasma. 

This process produces plasma-activated water with strong sterilizing properties — without chemical additives. 

This space-grade sterilization technology was redesigned and optimized for dental unit waterlines, allowing it to safely suppress bacterial growth and biofilm formation inside dental water systems — naturally, effectively, and continuously.

# The Real Challenge: Market Perception

The technology was ready — but the market wasn’t.
At that time, most in the Korean dental field were still unfamiliar with the very concept of “treatment water contamination.
”Few clinics recognized it as a real issue, and even fewer were willing to invest in an unproven new system.

As a result, although the technology had been completed,it wasn’t until 2011 — three years later — that we finally released our first model.

But to be honest, that first product was a series of hard lessons.

# Then, in 2014, everything changed.

In October 2014, a JTBC news report on the bacterial contamination of dental treatment watershook the Korean dental community.

“There are this many bacteria in dental water?”
“Could my clinic have the same issue?”

That moment was a turning point.

Dentists across the country began to take infection control seriously for the first time.

And as awareness spread, the DENTOZONE plasma system began to gain renewed attention.

The Market Finally Woke Up.
For years, the issue of dental treatment water quality had been something everyone knew about but ignored.
But after the 2014 JTBC broadcast, that changed dramatically.

Dentists started to understand — and to act.

The realization that “treatment water can be contaminated” hit hard,and the market’s perception began to shift.

That’s when I thought to myself:

“Now’s the time. Let’s build it right — once and for all.”

# A Year and a Half of Redevelopment — KOO’s Lab Begins Again

I decided to take the existing plasma system completely apart — and rebuild it from scratch.For a year and a half, I revisited every element: circuitry, sterilization algorithms, pressure control, and flow dynamics.Each issue was analyzed, tested, and resolved one by one. Finally, after countless nights in the lab,we achieved what I can confidently call a truly complete system.

# The Challenge Toward “Zero CFU/mL” — and Its Realization

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that dental treatment water contain fewer than 200 CFU/mL of bacteria.

In Korea, the standard aligns with the drinking water guideline of 100 CFU/mL or less.

But in reality, almost no system can consistently meet that threshold.

Most clinics still rely on chemical disinfectants as a temporary workaround.

The DENTOZONE Plasma Dental Water Management System, 
however, is different.

It guarantees compliance with Korea’s drinking water standard (≤100 CFU/mL).

In actual operation, it achieves near-zero bacterial levels — “0 CFU/mL.”

It requires no chemical agents (NO Chemicals).

It prevents biofilm formation (No Biofilm).

It maintains bacteria-free treatment water (No Bacteria).

Why Major University and General Hospitals Choose DENTOZONE

Today, the DENTOZONE Plasma System is trusted and installed in leading institutions such as:

Samsung Medical Center

At Samsung Medical Center, where water quality concerns had long been a major challenge,our system successfully resolved the issue — a case later presented as an academic paper at Seoul National University.

Chulalongkorn University

Recently, a Remarkable Study from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand A recent study conducted at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand’s top national university,has drawn significant attention from dental professionals, including both dentists and dental hygienists. The focus of this research was on bacterial contamination in aerosols generated during dental procedures. Researchers compared aerosols produced by dental units using ordinary treatment water with those using the DENTOZONE Plasma Dental Water System (DPS).

No Chemical. No Biofilm. No Bacteria.

The vision that DENTOZONE has pursued from the very beginning has always been clear:

# The Era of Hospital-Grade Systems — 
The Birth of TDP

Up to DPS2, DENTOZONE focused on improving treatment water hygiene for general dental clinics. But soon, large hospitals and university dental hospitals began presenting new challenges: 

“We treat hundreds of patients every day.”

“If the water stops, treatment stops.”

“Even during a power outage or water cut, the system must keep running.”

So once again, I returned to the drawing board.

And from that effort came the TDP System —

The ultimate hospital-grade dental water management solution and the culmination of everything DENTOZONE had envisioned.

Key Features

Model: TDP-Clinic (Standard Type)

# For Compact Spaces: The TDP Mini Is the Answer

There was still one practical challenge left.

Many modern clinics have limited or no mechanical rooms,and we often heard the same concern — 

“We simply don’t have enough space to install it.” 

To solve this, we developed the TDP Mini System in 2021.

# The Final Piece: 
    DPS3 for Operating Rooms

Most recently, in 2024,we developed DPS3, a dedicated 1:1 plasma systemfor clinics and hospitals that perform numerous surgical procedures such as implants, extractions, and tissue grafts.

This is DPS3 —
a plasma treatment water system designed for direct 1:1 installation in each operating room dental unit chair.

• Real-time display of plasma sterilization intensity
• Water pressure and flow monitoring during surgery
• Visual check of plasma activity levels
• Compact design for installation right next to the dental unit

This system was created to meet the highest hygiene standards required in surgical environments. where treatment water can directly enter the patient’s body.

And KOO is still in the lab, experimenting.

DENTOZONE is more than just a manufacturer —it is a dedicated dental water research lab driven by one belief: “The water that touches a patient’s mouth is directly connected to life.” With the philosophy ofNo Chemical / No Biofilm / No Bacteria,we continue to research, test, and innovate — every single day —until that vision becomes the universal standard. Thank you.