Department of Oral Rehabilitation, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6139001, Israel.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 22;20(6):5229. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20065229.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed an increased threat to dental personnel and patients. Close encounters with patients' breath and saliva and the use of intraoral rotating instruments which disperse microscopic airborne particles both increase the possibility of environmental infection. In this study, fluorescent marker (FM) was used to assess and enhance surface cleanliness in the dental clinics and public areas of a major dental school. Initially, 574 surfaces in various areas of a dental school were marked with FM for 3 consecutive months to monitor the surface cleanliness. The initial evaluation results were visually presented to both students and para-dental and cleaning personnel during a designated educational session, and were used to stress the importance of preventing cross-contamination. Following educational intervention, 662 surfaces were re-examined for an additional 3 months, using the same method. A significant improvement in the surfaces' cleanliness (ANOVA, F = 10.89, < 0.005) was observed post-intervention. The results were more prominent in students' clinics, which were the students' cleaning responsibility. The results show that fluorescent markers can serve as an educational tool to improve strategies to control contaminated surfaces in large clinics, such as dental schools. Their use can substantially decrease the hazard of cross-contamination during the pandemic and beyond.
新冠疫情大流行对牙科医护人员和患者构成了更大的威胁。与患者的呼吸和唾液近距离接触，以及使用口腔内旋转器械会分散微小的空气传播颗粒，这两者都增加了环境感染的可能性。在这项研究中，荧光标记物 (FM) 被用于评估和增强一所大型牙科学院的牙科诊所和公共区域的表面清洁度。最初，在牙科学院的各个区域用 FM 标记了 574 个表面，连续三个月进行监测，以评估表面清洁度。初始评估结果在指定的教育会议期间展示给学生和辅助牙科人员以及清洁人员，强调了预防交叉污染的重要性。教育干预后，使用相同的方法，再检查了 662 个表面，另外三个月。干预后，表面清洁度有显著改善（方差分析，F = 10.89，<0.005）。干预后，学生诊所的表面清洁度改善更为明显，因为学生是诊所的清洁责任人。结果表明，荧光标记物可以作为一种教育工具，用于改进控制大型诊所（如牙科学院）污染表面的策略。在大流行期间及以后，它们的使用可以大大降低交叉污染的危险。
