COVID-19 and suction

SARS Cov-2 causes the disease known as COVID-19 (C-19), a virus that first became known to the world towards the end of 2019. Dental professionals carry a high risk of contracting C-19^1, due to the nature of procedures carried out, particularly face-to-face communication with patients, frequent exposure to saliva, blood, and other bodily fluids, and the handling of sharp instruments.

Airborne spread

Airborne spread of viruses is well documented. When high-speed dental handpieces work in the oral cavity they produce water, which becomes mixed with patients’ saliva and even blood during treatment. To give some perspective to the new risk dental professionals face, the number of viruses in a patient with Hepatitis C is 2,000/ml of saliva²; the number of viruses with a C-19 patient is 158,000/ml of saliva³. That’s almost 80 times more! The highest values in C-19 patients occur approximately one week after the first symptoms. As some people experience very mild symptoms, they may not even be aware they’re carrying the disease.