Effective control of dental aerosols and splatters via commercial extraoral suction and an innovative design with an annular air curtain

Abstract

Dental professionals in dental clinics are more likely to be infected by dental aerosols and splatters (splatter: >50 µm in diameter). An extraoral suction (EOS) device has long been developed but has not been widely used to remove dental aerosols in dentistry because its performance varies widely. An innovative new design with an annular air curtain (EOS-AAC) was proposed in this work. The performance of both the commercial EOS and the new EOS-AAC design in removing dental aerosols and splatters was evaluated by numerical simulations. The new design can confine and guide the released dental aerosols and splatters towards the suction head. The new design for dental surgeries can create a large separation distance of 30 cm from the patient's mouth. The aerosol and splatter removal ratios were up to 98% by the innovative EOS-AAC design at a low central suction velocity of 6–9 m/s (flow rate: 1.5–2.25 m³/min). It is a significant improvement over currently available EOS devices with an aerosol removal ratio of 10% and splatter removal ratio of less than 1% at a distance of 30 cm. The new design can also be promoted to different indoor scenarios to remove contaminants.