Newsom Richard, Pattison Chris, Amara Adam, Louca Chris
Professor, School of Health and Care Professions, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
Senior Research Associate, Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Br Dent J. 2022 Jul 5:1-3. doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-4403-7.
Background Thorough disinfection of dental facilities is of paramount importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients, clinicians, students and nurses can all be infected by aerosols and dental droplets bearing COVID-19. However, droplets are transparent and often microscopic, so are difficult to detect in clinical practice.Methods To better understand the spread of dental droplets, we stained the dental irrigant with fluorescein and performed a series of procedures on a dental manikin. We then viewed droplets and fomite spread around the dental chair, with and without an ultraviolet (UV) light.Results Observations without the UV light showed minimal or no fluid spread. However, using UV light, we detected fluorescein on the dentist, chairs and the handpiece, as well as splatter on the floor and on the instrument tray. This was of educational value to the staff, who were reminded how far droplets had spread.Conclusion Fluorescein facilitates the detection of droplet spread and helps clinical staff to see high-risk areas that require in-depth cleaning. As clinical grade fluorescein is cheap and widely available, this technique may be useful for dental practices to train staff in the thorough decontamination of the clinical environment.
背景 在新冠疫情期间，牙科设施的彻底消毒至关重要。患者、临床医生、学生和护士都可能被携带新冠病毒的气溶胶和牙科飞沫感染。然而，飞沫是透明的，而且通常很微小，因此在临床实践中很难检测到。
方法 为了更好地了解牙科飞沫的传播情况，我们用荧光素对牙科冲洗液进行染色，并在牙科人体模型上进行了一系列操作。然后，我们观察了有无紫外线（UV）光情况下飞沫和污染物在牙科椅周围的传播情况。
结果 在没有紫外线的情况下观察到极少或没有液体传播。然而，使用紫外线时，我们在牙医、椅子和牙钻上检测到了荧光素，以及地板和器械托盘上的飞溅物。这对工作人员具有教育意义，提醒他们飞沫传播的范围有多广。
结论 荧光素有助于检测飞沫传播，并帮助临床工作人员看到需要深度清洁的高风险区域。由于临床级荧光素价格便宜且易于获得，该技术可能有助于牙科诊所培训工作人员对临床环境进行彻底消毒。
