Eliminating effects of an air purifier on infectants during dental procedure.

Blood and drill dust from dental plaque microorganisms, teeth, and filling materials can cause environmental pollution in the dental clinic. Currently, as a preventive measure against air pollution from a patient's mouth during dental treatment, dust-collecting aspirators such as an extra-oral vacuum aspirator (EOVA) are coming into general use. We tested the eliminating effects by the EOVA with the plaque solution aerosol and the aerosol from drilling a tooth by examining the distribution of floating aerosol in the air turbine's tank when a plaque solution was sprayed and when a human tooth was drilled with a plaque solution. We concluded that infectious aerosol increases in diameter with the drilling of human teeth to the size of about 0.5-5.0 micrometers, which is microbiologically and hygienically hazardous and also can be inhaled without much difficulty.