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. 2022 Jul 13:10:e13714.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.13714. eCollection 2022.

Are aerosol control devices effective in preventing the spread of dental aerosol?

Affiliations

Are aerosol control devices effective in preventing the spread of dental aerosol?

Elif Seher Böke et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: In dental clinics, aerosols produced from dental instruments have become a matter of concern following breakout of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) evolving into a pandemic. This study compared aerosol reduction systems and in terms of their ability to reduce Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) contaminated aerosol in a simulated dental office set-up.

Methods: Closed clinic model with manikin and mandibular molar typodont was simulated. For 10 min, the air and water dispersed by the rotating bur mounted on an aerator was contaminated by pouring the suspension containing 1-3 × 108 CFU/mL E. faecalis directly on the bur. During and after the procedures, the air within the cabin was also sampled. CFU count was recorded and scored. The mean CFU scores obtained from agar plate count and air sampling device was compared using Kruskal-Wallis H test among groups with 5% significance threshold.

Results: The use of WS Aerosol Defender device led to greater CFU scores on the agars levelled to patient's chest compared to other directions (p = 0.001). Combined use of VacStation and WS Aerosol Defender resulted in significantly decreased CFU score in the air samples compared to experimental and positive control groups (p = 0 < 0.05).

Conclusions: Although the devices prevented the spread of aerosol around the patient to some extent, they could not completely eliminate the contaminated aerosol load in the cabin environment.

Keywords: Aerosol; Aerosol control devices; COVID-19; Dentistry; Endodontics; Enterococcus faecalis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Extraoral protective barrier.
The front and side view of the extraoral protective barrier with a circle shaped opening with 10 cm diameter and with rubbers to attach the head.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Experimental set up.
The schematic representation of the experimental set up including the simulated patient and the placement of the agar plates.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Histogram showing the sum of the mean CFU scores of the experimental groups with control groups.
Histogram showing the sum of the mean CFU scores of the experimental groups with the positive (PC) and negative control (NC) groups according to the directions: (A) assistant side, (B) patient side, (C) dentist side, (D) above the patient. VS:VacStation, AD: WS Aerosol Defender group, EB: Extraoral barrier group, VSAD VacStation + WS Aerosol Defender group.

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