ArticleJournal of the American Dental Association (1939)2021
Characterization and mitigation of aerosols and spatters from ultrasonic scalers.
Article in Journal of the American Dental Association (1939), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Distribution characteristics of microbial aerosols and optimization of protective methods during ultrasonic scaling procedure.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of Combining an Extraoral High-Volume Evacuator with Preprocedural Mouth Rinsing in Reducing Aerosol Contamination Produced by Ultrasonic Scaling.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Mitigating aerosol contamination: strategies for contamination-free scaling.GMS hygiene and infection control · 2025Review
- Particle generation and dispersion from high-speed dental drilling.Clinical oral investigations · 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
- Microbial Air Contamination in a Dental Setting Environment and Ultrasonic Scaling in Periodontally Healthy Subjects: An Observational Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Observational
- Quantifying strategies to minimize aerosol dispersion in dental clinics.Experimental and computational multiphase flow · 2023Article
- Assessment of Infectious Diseases Risks From Dental Aerosols in Real-World Settings.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Bioaerosol distribution characteristics and potential SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in a multi-compartment dental clinic.Building and environment · 2022Article
- The Efficacy of High-Volume Evacuators and Extraoral Vacuum Aspirators in Reducing Aerosol and Droplet in Ultrasonic Scaling Procedures during the COVID-19 Pandemic.European journal of dentistry · 2022Article
- Article
- Efficacy of dental evacuation systems for aerosol exposure mitigation in dental clinic settings.Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene · 2022Article
- Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: An opportunity for transformation, innovation, and advocacy.Journal of dental education · 2022Article
- Utilization of rapid antigen tests for screening SARS-CoV-2 prior to dental treatment.Frontiers in oral health · 2022Article
- An experimental approach to analyze aerosol and splatter formations due to a dental procedure.Experiments in fluids · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDental procedures often produce aerosols and spatter, which have the potential to transmit pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The existing literature is limited.
methodsAerosols and spatter were generated from an ultrasonic scaling procedure on a dental manikin and characterized via 2 optical imaging methods: digital inline holography and laser sheet imaging. Capture efficiencies of various aerosol mitigation devices were evaluated and compared.
resultsThe ultrasonic scaling procedure generated a wide size range of aerosols (up to a few hundred μm) and occasional large spatter, which emit at low velocity (mostly < 3 m/s). Use of a saliva ejector and high-volume evacuator (HVE) resulted in overall reductions of 63% and 88%, respectively, whereas an extraoral local extractor (ELE) resulted in a reduction of 96% at the nominal design flow setting.
conclusionsThe study results showed that the use of ELE or HVE significantly reduced aerosol and spatter emission. The use of HVE generally requires an additional person to assist a dental hygienist, whereas an ELE can be operated hands free when a dental hygienist is performing ultrasonic scaling and other operations. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: An ELE aids in the reduction of aerosols and spatters during ultrasonic scaling procedures, potentially reducing transmission of oral or respiratory pathogens like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Position and airflow of the device are important to effective aerosol mitigation.
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