Assessing the clinical effectiveness of an aerosol reduction device for the air polisher.
BACKGROUND
Because of the growing concern of the infectious nature of aerosols produced by air polishers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association have made recommendations to minimize dental aerosols. In addition, a device was developed in 1997 to reduce the aerosol generated during air polishing.


METHODS
The authors conducted a blinded clinical study to determine the effectiveness of an aerosol reduction device during air polishing. All 30 subjects underwent two minutes of air polishing, one with the aerosol reduction device on one side of the mouth and one without the device on the opposite side. Microbial samples were collected on blood agar plates positioned 12 inches from the subject's mouth and from one plate attached to the dental hygienist's face mask. The sample plates were then inverted and incubated for three days at 37 C.


RESULTS
Using the paired t-test, the authors found that the air polisher without the aerosol reduction device generated a significantly greater mean quantity of colony-forming units, or CFUs, 12 inches from the subject's mouth (mean +/- standard deviation, 148.00 +/- 145.00 CFUs) than the air polisher with the aerosol reduction device (20.10 +/- 53.90 CFUs) (P < .0001). In addition, the air polisher without the aerosol reduction device generated a significantly greater number of CFUs on the face mask plate (40.90 +/- 33.80 CFUs) than the air polisher with the aerosol reduction device (8.80 +/- 15.10 CFUs) (P < .0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that the aerosol reduction device is effective in reducing the number of microorganisms generated during air polishing.


CONCLUSIONS
Air polishing with the aerosol reduction device may decrease the potential for disease transmission.
Muzzin
K B
KB
Caruth School of Dental Hygiene, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A & M University System Health Science Center, USA.
King
T B
TB
Berry
C W
CW
D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols; D000391:Air Microbiology; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D019243:Enamel Microabrasion / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D014618:Vacuum
D000336:Aerosols