ABSTRACT

Background: High-speed dental instruments produce aerosols, which can contribute to the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study is to describe the microbial load and – composition and spatial distribution of aerosols in dental clinics.

Methods: In four dental clinics active and passive sampling methods were used before, during and after treatment and at different locations. Retrieved colony forming units (CFU) were sequenced for taxon identification.

Results: The samples contained up to 655 CFU/plate/30 minutes and 418 CFU/m³/30 minutes during dental treatment for active and passive sampling, respectively. The level of contamination after treatment and at 1.5 m distance from the patient’s head was similar to the start of the day. The highest contamination was found at the patient’s chest area. The aerosols consisted of 52 different taxa from human origin and 36 from water.

Conclusion: Contamination in dental clinics due to aerosols is mainly low, although high level of contamination with taxa from both human and water origin was found within 80 cm around the head of the patient. Our results stress the importance of infection control measures on surfaces in close proximity to the head of the patient as well as in dental water lines.

摘要

背景：高速牙科器械会产生气溶胶，这可能会导致病原微生物的传播。这项研究的目的是描述牙科诊所中的微生物负荷以及气溶胶的组成和空间分布。

方法：在四个牙科诊所中，在治疗之前，期间和之后以及在不同位置使用主动和被动采样方法。对检索到的菌落形成单位（CFU）进行测序，以用于分类群鉴定。

结果：样品含有高达655 CFU /板/ 30分钟，418 CFU /米³的牙科治疗为主动和被动采样期间分别/ 30分钟，。治疗后以及距患者头部1.5 m处的污染程度与一天开始时相似。在患者的胸部发现最高的污染。气溶胶由来自人类的52种不同类别和来自水的36种组成。

结论：尽管在患者头部周围80厘米处发现了来自人类和水源的分类单元的高水平污染，但气溶胶对牙科诊所的污染主要较低。我们的结果强调了在靠近患者头部的表面以及牙齿输水管线中采取感染控制措施的重要性。