Airborne contamination in dental practices: an overview

Airborne contamination is a concern for healthcare professionals because of the importance of controlling cross-infection and providing care in an environment that is clean and safe to work in. This article addresses the following question: how can dental healthcare workers better protect themselves and their patients from a broad range of dental-practice-specific airborne contamination?

Airborne contamination consists of particles, including microorganisms, and gaseous compounds, including odours. Airborne contamination can be both organic in nature, for example microorganisms and some allergens, and inorganic, for example fine and ultra-fine particles from industrial pollution. Exposure to airborne contamination can lead to short-term health effects, such as headaches, fatigue and congestion, as well as long-term health problems, such as asthma, lung cancer and heart disease.