ReviewJournal of periodontology2020
Demystifying the mist: Sources of microbial bioload in dental aerosols.
Review in Journal of periodontology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among oral health care workers worldwide: A meta-analysis.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Pre-procedural Mouth Rinses in Reducing Aerosol Contamination During Periodontal Prophylaxis: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Aerosol Dispersion and Efficacy of Protective Strategies During Dental Procedures.International dental journal · 2025Article
- Aerosol-Mediated Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes: Biomonitoring Indoor and Outdoor Environments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Bacterial contamination potential of personal protective equipment itself in dental aerosol-producing treatments.Odontology · 2024Review
- The Impact of Hydrogen Peroxide (HJournal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Visualization of airborne droplets generated with dental handpieces and verification of the efficacy of high-volume evacuators: an in vitro study.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Evaluating the microbial aerosol generated by dental instruments: addressing new challenges for oral healthcare in the hospital infection.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Aerosol in the oral health-care setting: a misty topic.Clinical oral investigations · 2023Review
- Novel use of riboflavin as a fluorescent tracer in the dissemination of aerosol and splatter in an open operatory dental clinic.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2023Article
- Effect of herbal mouthrinsein dental ultrasonic scalers among Indians.Bioinformation · 2023Article
- Quantifying strategies to minimize aerosol dispersion in dental clinics.Experimental and computational multiphase flow · 2023Article
- Article
- Comparison of aerosol mitigation strategies and aerosol persistence in dental environments.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2022Article
- Simulated and clinical aerosol spread in common periodontal aerosol-generating procedures.Clinical oral investigations · 2022Article
- Virus transmission by ultrasonic scaler and its prevention by antiviral agent: An in vitro study.Journal of periodontology · 2022Article
- Comparison of Chlorhexidine and Hydrogen Peroxide as Preprocedural Mouthrinse during Ultrasonic Scaling: A Triple-Blinded Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2022Article
- Particle Size, Mass Concentration, and Microbiota in Dental Aerosols.Journal of dental research · 2022Article
- Aerosol exposure of staff during dental treatments: a model study.BMC oral health · 2022Article
- The Impact of COVID-19 on the Oral Health of Patients with Special Needs.Dental clinics of North America · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The risk of transmitting airborne pathogens is an important consideration in dentistry and has acquired special significance in the context of recent respiratory disease epidemics. The purpose of this review, therefore, is to examine (1) what is currently known regarding the physics of aerosol creation, (2) the types of environmental contaminants generated by dental procedures, (3) the nature, quantity, and sources of microbiota in these contaminants and (4) the risk of disease transmission from patients to dental healthcare workers. Most dental procedures that use ultrasonics, handpieces, air-water syringes, and lasers generate sprays, a fraction of which are aerosolized. The vast heterogeneity in the types of airborne samples collected (spatter, settled aerosol, or harvested air), the presence and type of at-source aerosol reduction methods (high-volume evacuators, low volume suction, or none), the methods of microbial sampling (petri dishes with solid media, filter paper discs, air harvesters, and liquid transport media) and assessment of microbial bioload (growth conditions, time of growth, specificity of microbial characterization) are barriers to drawing robust conclusions. For example, although several studies have reported the presence of microorganisms in aerosols generated by ultrasonic scalers and high-speed turbines, the specific types of organisms or their source is not as well studied. This paucity of data does not allow for definitive conclusions to be drawn regarding saliva as a major source of airborne microorganisms during aerosol generating dental procedures. Well-controlled, large-scale, multi center studies using atraumatic air harvesters, open-ended methods for microbial characterization and integrated data modeling are urgently needed to characterize the microbial constituents of aerosols created during dental procedures and to estimate time and extent of spread of these infectious agents.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.