Abstract
Background: In the context of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic that started in 2020, more attention is being paid to the air quality in medical offices. The medical, economic and social implications of this crisis are unprecedented. Dental offices, particularly, were significantly affected by this pandemic due to the high exposure of dental workers, limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and serious financial problems. Methods: Four different procedures were compared regarding their effectiveness in air contamination reduction, both from a biological point of view and from a management point of view: Fogging, Ultraviolet C (UVC) lamps, UVC air circulation units and natural ventilation. A total of 56 Petri dishes were used to evaluate air contamination. Results: All four procedures offered good results but the decontamination time and overall effect varied depending on the chosen method. Fogging was the only method that managed to remove all the identifiable pathogens. Conclusions: Fogging proved to be superior from a medical point of view, while the UVC air circulation unit proved to be more efficient from a management point of view.
Highlights
The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) started in the first months of 2020 and raised huge global health issues [1,2]
We aimed to verify whether plain natural ventilation is a sufficient method for ensuring air decontamination in the dental office, or whether more elaborated deconair in the dentalinoffice, or whether more elaborated decontamination for decontamination ensuring air decontamination the dental office, or whether more elaborated decontamination methods are required
Several Petri dishes exhibited bacterial colonies after incubation. Most of these posiPetri dishes had been collected during patient treatment, both in the samples closest to tive Petri dishes had been collected during patient treatment, both in the samples closest the patient, and in the ones situated farther away
Summary
The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) started in the first months of 2020 and raised huge global health issues (the first coronavirus cases had been already reported before the end of 2019) [1,2]. Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s They are spherical in form and covered with a helically symmetrical capsid and a peri-capsid crossed by glycoprotein structures. In the context of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic that started in 2020, more attention is being paid to the air quality in medical offices. Methods: Four different procedures were compared regarding their effectiveness in air contamination reduction, both from a biological point of view and from a management point of view: Fogging, Ultraviolet C (UVC) lamps, UVC air circulation units and natural ventilation. Conclusions: Fogging proved to be superior from a medical point of view, while the UVC air circulation unit proved to be more efficient from a management point of view
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
