Effects of Natural Ventilation and Saliva Standard Ejectors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Analysis of Aerosol Produced during Dental Procedures

The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has renewed attention to aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs). Dental-care workers are at high risk of contamination by SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of standard saliva ejectors and natural ventilation in reducing particulate matter (PM) concentration during different routine dental procedures in the pandemic period. The DustTrak monitor was used to measure PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and breathable (<4 microns) total dust during 14 procedures performed with and without the presence of natural ventilation in a dental unit. Moreover, measurements were performed near the practitioners or near the standard saliva ejectors during the different procedures. In the latter condition, reduced levels of PM10 were recorded (82.40 ± 9.65 μg/m³ vs. 50.52 ± 0.23 μg/m³). Moreover, higher levels of PM (53.95 ± 2.29 μg/m³ vs. 27.85 ± 0.14 μg/m³) were produced when the dental unit's windows were open. At the same time, the total level of PM were higher during scaling than during other procedures (data suggest not to adopt natural ventilation-both window and door opened-during dental procedures). It was also demonstrated that the use of standard saliva ejectors can considerably reduce the total released amount of PM10.