COMPLEX CHARACTERIZATION OF DENTAL OFFICE AEROSOLS REVEALS IMPORTANT LOADS OF RISK ELEMENTS FOR THE HUMAN HEALTH

Workplace conditions are directly reflected on the health of dental practitioners which in turn influences the quality of the medical services. Using a complementary approach our study aimed to determine the elemental composition, morphology and size distribution of non-microbial particles present in the air of a dental office, during various dental treatments, in order to identify and analyse potential risk factors for the human health. The samples were collected on carbon double adhesive tape - an original and very efficient particle collecting method. The aerosols produced during various treatments were analysed using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first one to use the combination of these methods in studying dental aerosols. Using the highly sophisticated equipment allowed to augment the accuracy of our findings and helped to identify various types of elements, some of which were not reported in previous studies dealing with a similar problematic. Our results underline the aerosols potential of deeply penetrating into the respiratory system, even to the level of pulmonary alveoli, and thereby they represent serious health threats for the practitioners and patients.