Plog Jevon, Wu Jingwei, Dias Yasmin J, Mashayek Farzad, Cooper Lyndon F, Yarin Alexander L
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 W. Taylor St., Chicago, Illinois 60607-7022, USA.
Department of Oral Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 801 S. Paulina St. 402E, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Phys Fluids (1994). 2020 Aug 1;32(8):083111. doi: 10.1063/5.0021476. Epub 2020 Aug 25.
The aerosol transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted the delivery of health care and essentially stopped the provision of medical and dental therapies. Dentistry uses rotary, ultrasonic, and laser-based instruments that produce water-based aerosols in the daily, routine treatment of patients. Abundant aerosols are generated, which reach health care workers and other patients. Viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 virus and related coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, continued expansion throughout the USA and the world. The virus is spread by both droplet (visible drops) and aerosol (practically invisible drops) transmission. The generation of aerosols in dentistry-an unavoidable part of most dental treatments-creates a high-risk situation. The US Centers for Disease Control and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration consider dental procedures to be of "highest risk" in the potential spreading of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. There are several ways to reduce or eliminate the virus: (i) cease or postpone dentistry (public and personal health risk), (ii) screen patients immediately prior to dental treatment (by appropriate testing, if any), (iii) block/remove the virus containing aerosol by engineering controls together with stringent personal protective equipment use. The present work takes a novel, fourth approach. By altering the physical response of water to the rotary or ultrasonic forces that are used in dentistry, the generation of aerosol particles and the distance any aerosol may spread beyond the point of generation can be markedly suppressed or completely eliminated in comparison to water for both the ultrasonic scaler and dental handpiece.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的气溶胶传播性已经影响了医疗保健服务的提供，并基本停止了医疗和牙科治疗的供给。牙科在日常常规治疗患者时会使用旋转、超声和激光器械，这些器械会产生水基气溶胶。会产生大量气溶胶，这些气溶胶会传播到医护人员和其他患者身上。包括SARS-CoV-2病毒及相关冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行在内的病毒在美国和全球持续蔓延。该病毒通过飞沫（可见飞沫）和气溶胶（几乎不可见飞沫）传播。牙科中气溶胶的产生——大多数牙科治疗中不可避免的一部分——造成了高风险情况。美国疾病控制中心和职业安全与健康管理局认为牙科诊疗在SARS-CoV-2和其他呼吸道病毒的潜在传播中属于“最高风险”。有几种方法可以减少或消除病毒：（i）停止或推迟牙科治疗（公共和个人健康风险），（ii）在牙科治疗前立即对患者进行筛查（如有合适检测手段），（iii）通过工程控制措施并严格使用个人防护装备来阻隔/去除含有病毒的气溶胶。本研究采用了一种全新的第四种方法。通过改变水对牙科中使用的旋转或超声力的物理响应，与使用水相比，对于超声洁牙机和牙科手机而言，气溶胶颗粒的产生以及任何气溶胶可能从产生点扩散的距离都可以得到显著抑制或完全消除。
