Advances in Human Biology (Jan 2021)

Comparative evaluation of three different ultrasonic liquid on microorganisms in dental aerosols

  • Rupal Mehta,
  • Sejal Kathad,
  • Gaurav Girdhar,
  • Sushmita Bhakkad,
  • Chandni Patel,
  • Surabhi Joshi,
  • Santosh Kumar,
  • Mohammed Irfan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/aihb.aihb_57_21
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 3
pp. 234 – 238

Abstract

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Introduction: Transmission of diseases has become very common in modern dentistry. This happens mainly due to aerosol production by handpieces and ultrasonic scalers. Aerosol and splatter are terms typically used in dentistry in relation to the microbiological risk of nosocomial transmission. Hence, in order to prevent this, we can use certain chemical agents in the water supply line to prevent the spread of diseases. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX) and povidone-iodine (PVI) on the microorganisms in dental aerosols in comparison with distilled water. Materials and Methods: A total of thirty patients were included in this study. They were randomly assigned into three groups of 10 each. Group 1 (Control group): ultrasonic scaling with distilled water, Group 2 (test group): ultrasonic scaling with 2% povidone-iodine, and Group 3 (test group): ultrasonic scaling with 0.12% CHX. Three blood agar plates were kept at a distance of 0.4 m away on either side of the patient and 2 m behind the patient's mouth during ultrasonic scaling. On the patient, ultrasonic scaling is executed for 20 min with a universal tip. Blood agar plates were used to collect the gravitometric settling of dental aerosols, followed by a colony-counting procedure with the help of a microbiologist. Results: The results demonstrated no significant number of colony-forming unit (CFU) were detected at baseline. It is found that Group 3 (CHX gluconate) showed effective CFU reduction (29.2 ± 1.47 CFU) compared to distilled water (126.5 ± 24.02CFU) and povidone-iodine (70.1 ± 2.13 CFU). More CFU was found on blood agar plates which were kept on the right side in all the groups. The results obtained were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: CHX is more effective in reducing dental aerosols compared to povidone-iodine, and distilled water in this povidone-iodine is also better than distilled water.

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