AUTHOR=Barboza Eliane Porto , dos Santos Gustavo Oliveira , Montez Caroline , Sendra Luiza Abreu , Vieira Esio Oliveira , Ferreira Vinicius Farias TITLE=Are Non-woven Gowns Safe for Dental Professionals? A Preclinical Double-Blind Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Dental Medicine VOLUME=1 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/dental-medicine/articles/10.3389/fdmed.2020.577477 DOI=10.3389/fdmed.2020.577477 ISSN=2673-4915 ABSTRACT=
With the advent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the risk of dental professional's infection increases exponentially due to aerosol-generating procedures. The protective performance of dental professional gown fabrics is a major challenge against microorganisms and aerosols. Globally, health care workers wear gowns manufactured with non-woven fabrics. However, these professionals may have a false greater sense of protection based on the greater weight of the gown's fabric. This study evaluated whether aerosol generated by dental procedures has the potential to pass through three different non-woven weights (40, 60, and 80 g/m2). Single and folded formats of each weight were analyzed. The positions of the mannequin and the high-speed handpiece were standardized. The non-woven samples were placed over a sheet of sulfite paper and fixed on a marked position of a standardized smooth surface, 10 cm away from the end of the mannequin's head, simulating the dental professional body. For better visualization, the water used in the equipment was tinted with water-soluble red artificial dye. Blind to the nature of the groups, one researcher started the 5 uninterrupted min of aerosol production. The sheets were randomized coded, so that the samples could not be identified by the evaluator. Another researcher, blind to the tests, scanned all sheets and the images were analyzed by ImageJ software. The groups showed significant differences (