Aerosol Assist - Fluorescent Test

Side by side testing of the Aerosol Assist, a hands-free, autoclavable, aerosol suppression system versus a standard saliva ejector alone when performing a mock dental prophylaxis. The mock dental prophylaxis was performed from canine to canine on the maxillary and mandibular arches.

Using non-toxic UV reactive water dye to demonstrate splatter and aerosol dispersion.

What is splatter? Particles larger than 50μm in diameter have an arc trajectory similar to that of a bullet until they contact a surface or fall to the floor. How big is 50μm? To compare, a standard piece of paper is 100 microns.

What are aerosols? Aerosols are defined as particles less than 50 micrometers (SI symbol: μm) in diameter. These particles can get so tiny that they can stay in the air from minutes to hours.

Why is this important? “The use of a high-volume evacuator, or HVE, has been shown to reduce the contamination arising from the operative site by more than 90 percent.”

THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION (JADA)