Year : 2022

Volume : Volume 13

Issue : Issue 1

Address for correspondence :
Sunny Tandon
sunny14zpedo@yahoo.com

Abstract

Background: The endodontists of Delhi NCR region were quite in dilemma regarding the transmission of coronavirus through aerosols in endodontic procedures. There was a need for analysis of the aerosols produced during the endodontic procedures regarding their potential in the transmission of microorganisms and what safety protocol should be maintained to reduce the danger it possess in the transmission of coronavirus. This study was carried out to analyze the special concern of aerosols produced in endodontic procedures in the COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi NCR region. Materials and Methods: In this study sixty study subjects were included in the study. Twenty subjects underwent pulpotomy, twenty subjects were subjected to pulpectomy while twenty subjects were subjected to non-surgical root canal treatment. The samples from patients were collected before the treatment as well as at the end of the treatment. The samples were collected from patients while they were kept in rest position in the rooms. The approach for sampling was passive air sampling approach. There was the placement of agar plates all across the dental clinal setting. Then, there was evaluation of extent of contamination of aerosols by measurement of colony-forming units at four different locations. Extent of contamination was analyzed in different treatment modalities along with the duration of treatment. Results: When there was evaluation of level of contamination at location in front of the patient mouth then it was observed that contamination was more in pulpotomy when the location was 500 cm in comparison with the location of 2000 cm from the patient mouth. The difference was statistically significant with P < 0.005. In case of pulpectomy also it was found that contamination was more when the location was 500 cm in comparison with the location of 2000 cm from the patient mouth. The difference was statistically significant with P < 0.005. However, in the treatment modality of non-surgical root canal treatment, there was no statistical difference in contamination when the location was 500 cm in front of the mouth in comparison to location of 2000 cm from the mouth with P = 0.05. Conclusion: From this research, it was concluded that the production of aerosols is greater in the pulpectomy as compared to pulpotomy and the extent of contamination is directly proportional to the duration of treatment and the distance from the oral cavity of patient. More studies should be carried out to address this special concern.

Keywords: Aerosols, Corona virus disease 2019, Endodontic procedures, Extent of contamination.