Aerosol concentrations and size distributions during clinical dental procedures

Background: Suspected aerosol-generating dental instruments may cause risks for operators by transmitting pathogens, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The aim of our study was to measure aerosol generation in various dental procedures in clinical settings. Methods: The study population comprised of 84 patients who underwent 253 different dental procedures measured with Optical Particle Sizer in a dental office setting. Aerosol particles from 0.3 to 10 μm in diameter were measured. Dental procedures included oral examinations (N ¼ 52), restorative procedures with air turbine handpiece (N ¼ 8), high-speed (N ¼ 6) and low-speed (N ¼ 30) handpieces, ultrasonic scaling (N ¼ 31), periodontal treatment using hand instruments (N ¼ 60), endodontic treatment (N ¼ 12), intraoral radiographs (N ¼ 24), and dental local anesthesia (N ¼ 31). Results: Air turbine handpieces significantly elevated 5 μm median (p ¼ 0.023), maximum (p ¼ 0.013) particle number concentrations,> 5 μm particle mass concentrations (p ¼ 0.021) and maximum total particle mass concentrations (p ¼ 0.022). High-speed dental handpieces elevated aerosol concentration levels compared to the levels produced during oral examination. Conclusions: Air turbine handpieces produced the highest levels of