Aerosols

The current phase of the COVID 19 pandemic has focused largely on the person-to-person transmission of infection via aerosols or micro-droplets.

Have a look at this short video to see how far and how long these droplets are cast and remain in the air.

And then look at the following chart which rates occupational exposure to infection. No occupation beats the dental professional for risk.

So what might this mean when the economy restarts and “things return to normal”? First, the regulators of the dental professions may well require more vigilance and equipment to minimize these risks to the profession and to the patient. Second, this means more cost and more time between patients to control cross infection.

The heightened awareness around aerosols may also bring new models for characterizing and then managing dental plaque. No longer is it the amount of dental plaque which is important. It’s whether the plaque is balanced or unbalanced or in technical terms, commensal/symbiotic or dysbiotic. This can be judged commonly by observing inflammation, soreness and bleeding and/or the emergence of root caries. With these symptoms, extensive scaling and debridement, and the associated aerosols, can be minimized with the use of Prevora.