Aerosol and COVID-19: An Inevitable Contaminant in Dental Practice
Author(s): Bharat Gupta*, B. Parthvi Mehta, Mehek Marwah, Laresh mistry, Vaibhav Tiwari and Neha anil patil
Abstract
Aerosols are liquid or solid particles suspended in the air by humans, animals, instruments or machines, In a dental clinic environment, the dentist, their staff and the patients are daily exposed to a great variety of infectious agents and toxic substances transported by aerosols and droplets, promoting an increased risk of cross-infection. Especially during this pandemic of SARS-CoV-2,the dental profession was considered riskier because of the aerosolsgenerated during various dental procedures. Therefore, through this paper, we would like to focus on the adverse effects of aerosol, how it poses as a hazard in dentistry, it being a potential means of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a dental set-up and finally, the measures that can be taken to reduce aerosol production as much as possible in a dental clinic to make it safer for the dentist as well as the patient.