Environmental microbial contamination. Pilot study in a dental surgery.

Environmental contamination by bacterial aerosols occurs every day in the dental surgery. The aim of this study was to determine bacterial levels in five different areas of a dental surgery during ultrasonic scaling procedures using bacterial cultures. Two areas with markedly different amounts of infective aerosols were identified. The role of the air conditioning system was also assessed. There was evidence that the air conditioning system could act as a vehicle for the transmission of microorganisms.