Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Sub-Unit of Periodontology, Halitosis and Periodontal Medicine, University Hospital of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 24;18(7):3357. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073357.
Aerosol production represents a major concern during the majority of dental procedures. The aim of the present study is to investigate the dynamics of aerosol particles after 15 min of continuous supragingival ultrasonic instrumentation with no attempt of containment through particle count analysis. Eight volunteers were treated with supragingival ultrasonic instrumentation of the anterior buccal region. A gravimetric impactor was positioned 1 m away and at the same height of the head of the patient. Particles of different sizes (0.3-10 µm) were measured at the beginning of instrumentation, at the end of instrumentation (EI), and then every 15 min up to 105 min. The 0.3-µm particles showed non-significant increases at 15/30 min. The 0.5-1-µm particles increased at EI ( < 0.05), and 0.5 µm remained high for another 15 min. Overall, all submicron aerosol particles showed a slow decrease to normal values. Particles measuring 3-5 µm showed non-significant increases at EI. Particles measuring 10 µm did not show any increases but a continuous reduction ( < 0.001 versus 0.3 µm, < 0.01 versus 0.5 µm, and < 0.05 versus 1-3 µm). Aerosol particles behaved differently according to their dimensions. Submicron aerosols peaked after instrumentation and slowly decreased after the end of instrumentation, whilst larger particles did not show any significant increases. This experimental study produces a benchmark for the measurement of aerosol particles during dental procedures and raises some relevant concerns about indoor air quality after instrumentation.
在大多数牙科操作过程中，气溶胶的产生是一个主要关注点。本研究的目的是通过粒子计数分析，在不进行任何封闭处理的情况下，调查连续使用超声龈上器械 15 分钟后气溶胶颗粒的动力学。8 名志愿者接受了上前牙颊侧区的龈上超声器械治疗。在离患者头部 1 米且与头部等高的位置放置了一个重力撞击器。在器械操作开始时、器械操作结束时（EI）以及随后的 15 分钟至 105 分钟，测量了不同大小（0.3-10 µm）的颗粒。0.3 µm 的颗粒在 15/30 分钟时显示出无显著增加。0.5-1 µm 的颗粒在 EI 时增加（<0.05），而 0.5 µm 的颗粒在另外 15 分钟内仍保持较高水平。总体而言，所有亚微米气溶胶颗粒的缓慢减少至正常水平。测量值为 3-5 µm 的颗粒在 EI 时显示出无显著增加。测量值为 10 µm 的颗粒没有显示出任何增加，但呈连续减少（与 0.3 µm 相比<0.001，与 0.5 µm 相比<0.01，与 1-3 µm 相比<0.05）。气溶胶颗粒根据其尺寸表现出不同的行为。亚微米气溶胶在器械操作后达到峰值，然后在器械操作结束后缓慢减少，而较大的颗粒则没有显示出任何显著增加。这项实验研究为牙科操作过程中气溶胶颗粒的测量提供了一个基准，并对器械操作后的室内空气质量提出了一些相关关注。
