COVID-19 spread during dental treatment could be lowered with slower drill rotation, study says

Using a slower drill rotation during dental procedures could help prevent COVID-19 aerosol spre and improve safety for both patients and dental practice workforce, according to a study published on Thursday.

researchers at Imperial College London and King's College London in UK ted that dental treatment can pose a high risk of viral transmission because tools that are used often produce aerosols, which can contain a high number of copies of vel coronavirus.

aerosols are generated when saliva mixes with water and air streams used in dental procedures, y said.

study, published in Journal of Dental Research, measured and analyzed aerosol generation during procedures and suggested changes to prevent contamination in first place to improve safety.

It suggests that dentists avoid using dental drills that use a mixture of air and water as abrasion coolants, and carefully select and control drill rotation speeds for those instruments that only use water as a coolant.

Dental practices have h to introduce new room decontamination processes and personal protective equipment measures which have dramatically reduced number of patients that can be treated in a single day, researchers said.

Dentists need to leave long intervals between treatments, leaving rooms uccupied to allow aerosols to dissipate, which limits patient access and is challenging financial feasibility for many dental practices worldwide, y said.

latest study identified parameters that would allow some procedures such as dental fillings to be provided while producing 60 times fewer aerosol droplets than conventional instrumentation.

"Aerosols are a kwn transmission route for virus behind COVID-19, so we have tested and suggested solutions that reduce amount of aerosols produced in first place,” said study le author Antonis Sergis from Imperial College London.

se could help reduce risk of transmission during dental procedures, Sergis ded.

results are being included as evidence in guides for dental practices in UK during pandemic, researchers said.

team used dental clinical rooms at Guy's Hospital in London to test how aerosols are generated during procedures such as decay removal, applying and polishing fillings, and justing prosses.

researchers measured aerosol generation using high-speed cameras and lasers and n used se findings to suggest modifications.

y found that using air turbine drill s, which are most common of dental drill, creates dense clouds of aerosol droplets that spre as fast as 12 meters per second and can quickly contaminate an entire treatment room.

researchers ted that just one milliliter of saliva from infected patients contains up to 120 million copies of virus, each having capacity to infect.

y tested a different of drill, kwn as high torque electric micromotor, with and without use of water and air streams.

scientists found that using this drill at low speeds of less than 100,000 rpm without air streams produced 60 times fewer droplets than air turbine drill s.

y also found that aerosol concentration and spre within a room are dependent on positioning of patient, presence of ventilation systems, and room's size and geometry.

It is also influenced by initial direction and speed of aerosol itself, which can be affected by of cutting instrument, and amount and of cooling water used, according to researchers.

By understanding how to reduce amount of aerosol generated in first place, se suggestions by researchers could help dentists practice more and help patients get treatment y need. 

(IM CREDITS:AP)