The abundance of the potential pathogen Staphylococcus hominis in the air microbiome in a dental clinic and its susceptibility to far‐UVC light

Abstract

Abstract The dental clinic air microbiome incorporates microbes from the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract (URT). This study aimed to establish a reliable methodology for air sampling in a dental clinic setting and quantify the abundance of culturable mesophilic aerobic bacteria present in these samples using regression modeling. Staphylococcus hominis, a potentially pathogenic bacterium typically found in the human oropharynx and URT, was consistently isolated. S. hominis was the most abundant species of aerobic bacteria (22%–24%) and comprised 60%–80% of all Staphylococcus spp. The study also assessed the susceptibility of S. hominis to 222 nm‐far‐UVC light in laboratory experiments, which showed an exponential surface inactivation constant of k = 0.475 cm2/mJ. This constant is a critical parameter for future on‐site use of far‐UVC light as a technique for reducing pathogenic bacterial load in dental clinics.

Keywords

• 222 nm‐far‐UVC susceptibility
• air microbiome
• air sampling
• pathogenic
• regression modeling
• Staphylococcus hominis