Air quality in a hospital dental department

Chien-Tien Hsu; Shih-Chang Hsu; Shau-Ku Huang; Chon-Lin Lee; Yi-Shing Shieh

doi:10.1016/j.jds.2022.03.011

Air quality in a hospital dental department

J Dent Sci. 2022 Jul;17(3):1350-1355. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2022.03.011. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Authors

Chien-Tien Hsu¹, Shih-Chang Hsu^{2

3}, Shau-Ku Huang⁴, Chon-Lin Lee^{5

6

7}, Yi-Shing Shieh^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dentistry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Emergency Department, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Applied Chemistry, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background/purpose: Documented studies demonstrated that particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) are relatively high in dental clinics. However, the PM2.5 composition is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the dental department's air quality in a teaching hospital.

Materials and methods: The SKC AirChek XR5000 pumps and canister samplers were used to collect PM2.5 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The PM2.5 composition analysis (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals) was conducted, and in the dental clinic and waiting room, the air quality comparison was investigated. Moreover, the dental clinic's air quality was compared before and after air purifier use.

Results: In the dental clinic and waiting room, the results revealed high PM2.5 concentration exceeding the standard of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (35 μg/m³); the values were 41.08-108.23 μg/m³ and 17.89-62.72 μg/m³, respectively. In both investigated locations, VOCs had no significant difference. Among 16 priority PAHs, the result indicated high level of benzo(b)fluoranthene (B(b)f), benzo(k)fluoranthene (B(k)f), benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)p), and indenopyrene (IP). B(b)f and B(k)f and lead (Pb) concentrations were detected with a significant difference in the clinic as compared to the waiting room. In addition, after air purifier use, the B(b)f concentration in the dental clinic reduced from 0.08 to 0.42 ug/m³ to 0.06-0.18 ug/m³ (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: For dental practitioners, an appropriated air quality regulation needs to be considered, due to high air pollutant concentration. In addition, using air purifier can efficiently reduce air pollutants.

Keywords: Dental clinic; PM2.5; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Volatile organic compounds.