Tag: COVID-19

Categories
Publications

First paper from the Newcastle Dental Aerosols Research Group published

The first paper from the Newcastle Dental Aerosols Research Group has now been published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation.

This paper reports our methodology for examining the distribution of aerosols and splatter produced by dental procedures which uses a fluorescent dye. We are the first group to apply both digital image analysis and spectrofluorometric analysis to the study of dental aerosols.

The experimental setup used in the research. This comprised of a rig with rigid rods spaced at 45-degree intervals in an 8-metre diameter circle around a mannequin. Filter papers were used to collect a fluorescent dye tracer.

We found that most contamination from dental procedures was distributed in the first 1 – 1.5 metres from the procedure, but for some procedures (particularly ultrasonic scaling), contamination could be detected some distance away.

The findings in this paper tell us where any “water-spray” from dental procedures go, but further work will need to show how much biological material is carried in this water-spray before we can better understand the risk of cross-infection posed by dental aerosols.

Heatmaps showing distribution of contamination from a crown preparation procedure on an front tooth using fluorescence photography image analysis (left) and spectrofluorometry (right).

The research was funded by the School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University and the British Endodontic Society.

Categories
Funding

Funding success from the British Endodontic Society

The Newcastle Dental Bioaerosols Research Group were awarded a research grant from the British Endodontic Society from the Society’s “Call for research to address the impact of AGP’s in dentistry with respect to COVID-19”.

The project “Dental aerosol generating procedures: assessment of risk and mitigation strategies” was will allow the group to complete vital research into ways to manage the impact of COVID-19 on dentistry.

Some members of the Newcastle Dental Bioaerosols Research Group. Left to right: Dr Richard Holliday, Mr David Edwards, Dr Nadia Rostami, Mr James Allison.