Objectives: Tooth-grinding procedures generate a significant amount of potentially infectious and pathogenic aerosols, requiring timely and efficient control. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of an integrated capture and inactivation approach for controlling aerosol contamination within a dental clinic.
Materials and methods: A novel device was developed for the efficient capture of suspended particles and the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms during tooth-grinding procedures in a controlled clinical dental setting. Six intact molars were pretreated to form uniformly sized cylinders prior to the in vitro tooth grinding experiments. Three replicates of the experiment were conducted, with 3 online real-time particle counters placed along the direction of the grinding particle jet at varying distances from the source to measure particle number concentration. High-energy ion tubes were used as low-temperature plasma generators in inactivation experiments against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Two experimental groups were established based on single- and double-layer generator configurations (7 generators per layer), with a single-generator setup serving as the control group. The ORPC data were analysed using descriptive and differential statistics, and the inactivation rates were derived from pre- and post-treatment colony counts and presented as bar charts.
Results: The Kruskal-Wallis test results indicated that under negative pressure capture conditions, aerosol contamination levels differed significantly among the 3 sampling locations (P < .05), but all levels were reduced to baseline within 1 minute. Low-temperature plasma generated by a dual-layer generator configuration achieved nearly 100% inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms within 7 minutes.
Conclusions: The integrated capture and inactivation approach can effectively interrupt the indoor transmission of grinding aerosols while achieving efficient inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms.
Keywords: Aerosol contamination; Health impacts; Integrated capture and inactivation; Low-temperature plasma; Negative pressure; Tooth grinding.
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