Abstract: Dental hand tools including disposable water and air treatment cartridges. In various constructions, cartridges containing selected arrangements of disinfectant media mount to a detachable, hand tool adaptor manifold or to an integral hand tool manifold. The cartridges purify water and air discharged from the hand tool of undesired microbes and pathogens. Seals at a cartridge body retain the cartridge to the manifold and direct liquid and air flow over external surfaces of the cartridge to an interior cavity containing a halogen disinfectant media (e.g. a multi-valent iodine resin) and/or halogen scavenger media and porous spacers. A retainer may interlock the cartridge to the manifold and means may be included to prevent leaching of the disinfectant by the scavenger media. Various constructions of handpieces, syringes and scalers compatible with alternative adaptors or having integral cartridge manifolds are disclosed.