Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study
Abstract Background Due to exposure to potentially infectious aerosols during treatments, the dental personnel is considered being at high risk for aerosol transmitted diseases like COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate aerosol exposure during different dental treatments as well as the eff...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Oral Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02155-9 |
| _version_ | 1818022208190021632 |
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| author | Florentina Melzow Sarah Mertens Hristo Todorov David A. Groneberg Sebastian Paris Alexander Gerber |
| author_facet | Florentina Melzow Sarah Mertens Hristo Todorov David A. Groneberg Sebastian Paris Alexander Gerber |
| author_sort | Florentina Melzow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Due to exposure to potentially infectious aerosols during treatments, the dental personnel is considered being at high risk for aerosol transmitted diseases like COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate aerosol exposure during different dental treatments as well as the efficacy of dental suction to reduce aerosol spreading. Methods Dental powder-jet (PJ; Air-Flow®), a water-cooled dental handpiece with a diamond bur (HP) and water-cooled ultrasonic scaling (US) were used in a simulation head, mounted on a dental unit in various treatment settings. The influence of the use of a small saliva ejector (SE) and high-volume suction (HVS) was evaluated. As a proxy of aerosols, air-born particles (PM10) were detected using a Laser Spectrometer in 30 cm distance from the mouth. As control, background particle counts (BC) were measured before and after experiments. Results With only SE, integrated aerosol levels [median (Q25/Q75) µg/m3 s] for PJ [91,246 (58,213/118,386) µg/m3 s, p < 0.001, ANOVA] were significantly increased compared to BC [7243 (6501/8407) µg/m3 s], whilst HP [11,119 (7190/17,234) µg/m3 s, p > 0.05] and US [6558 (6002/7066) µg/m3 s; p > 0.05] did not increase aerosol levels significantly. The use of HVS significantly decreased aerosol exposure for PJ [37,170 (29,634/51,719) µg/m3 s; p < 0.01] and HP [5476 (5066/5638) µg/m3 s; p < 0.001] compared to SE only, even reaching lower particle counts than BC levels for HP usage (p < 0.001). Conclusions To reduce the exposure to potentially infectious aerosols, HVS should be used during aerosol-forming dental treatments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:29:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c10010bbe8c244e783039177cf31e8cc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6831 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:29:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Oral Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c10010bbe8c244e783039177cf31e8cc2022-12-22T02:03:58ZengBMCBMC Oral Health1472-68312022-04-012211610.1186/s12903-022-02155-9Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model studyFlorentina Melzow0Sarah Mertens1Hristo Todorov2David A. Groneberg3Sebastian Paris4Alexander Gerber5Department of Operative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, Center of Oral Health Sciences, Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinDepartment of Operative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, Center of Oral Health Sciences, Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinInstitute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center MainzInstitute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University FrankfurtDepartment of Operative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, Center of Oral Health Sciences, Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinInstitute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University FrankfurtAbstract Background Due to exposure to potentially infectious aerosols during treatments, the dental personnel is considered being at high risk for aerosol transmitted diseases like COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate aerosol exposure during different dental treatments as well as the efficacy of dental suction to reduce aerosol spreading. Methods Dental powder-jet (PJ; Air-Flow®), a water-cooled dental handpiece with a diamond bur (HP) and water-cooled ultrasonic scaling (US) were used in a simulation head, mounted on a dental unit in various treatment settings. The influence of the use of a small saliva ejector (SE) and high-volume suction (HVS) was evaluated. As a proxy of aerosols, air-born particles (PM10) were detected using a Laser Spectrometer in 30 cm distance from the mouth. As control, background particle counts (BC) were measured before and after experiments. Results With only SE, integrated aerosol levels [median (Q25/Q75) µg/m3 s] for PJ [91,246 (58,213/118,386) µg/m3 s, p < 0.001, ANOVA] were significantly increased compared to BC [7243 (6501/8407) µg/m3 s], whilst HP [11,119 (7190/17,234) µg/m3 s, p > 0.05] and US [6558 (6002/7066) µg/m3 s; p > 0.05] did not increase aerosol levels significantly. The use of HVS significantly decreased aerosol exposure for PJ [37,170 (29,634/51,719) µg/m3 s; p < 0.01] and HP [5476 (5066/5638) µg/m3 s; p < 0.001] compared to SE only, even reaching lower particle counts than BC levels for HP usage (p < 0.001). Conclusions To reduce the exposure to potentially infectious aerosols, HVS should be used during aerosol-forming dental treatments.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02155-9AerosolsOral medicineDental staffDental suctionCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Florentina Melzow Sarah Mertens Hristo Todorov David A. Groneberg Sebastian Paris Alexander Gerber Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study BMC Oral Health Aerosols Oral medicine Dental staff Dental suction COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study |
| title_full | Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study |
| title_fullStr | Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study |
| title_short | Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study |
| title_sort | aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments a model study |
| topic | Aerosols Oral medicine Dental staff Dental suction COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02155-9 |
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