BOFA International has launched an innovative direct aerosol extraction system for dental surgeries that offers significant protection from the bidirectional transmission of contaminants between patients and dental staff.
The portable DentalPRO Aerosol unit is proven to capture 99.997% of particles at 0.3 microns, thanks to its high performing, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. This significantly exceeds the 95% filtration effectiveness that N95 face masks, commonly used in dental clinics, provide.
“The new DentalPRO Aerosol model addresses one of the biggest concerns of dental surgeries as staff look to return to work – how to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 during routine procedures,” said Luke Ziolkowski, Global Business Development Manager – Dental.
“Our technology achieves this through the capture of aerosol directly from patient breathing zones thanks to its close-proximity design that extracts contaminated air away from dental staff. Not only does this protect dental staff, it does so with no procedure interference and also helps prevent the risk of surface contamination caused by bioaerosols and spatter.”
The BOFA system incorporates a three-stage filtration process, with a pre-filter removing larger particulate – including dust associated with solidified paste used in many dental procedures – and protecting the effectiveness of the main HEPA filter and the carbon filter in capturing airborne contaminants.
The DentalPRO Aerosol’s multi-joint arm ensures the easy positioning of the capture hood in the patient breathing zone, while a powerful pump, serviceable for 20,000+ hours, provides adjustable extraction rates. The system can be turned to maximum capacity for applications that involve heavier aerosol generation.
In dental surgery environments, aerosols can remain airborne for extended periods of time, and can be transported in air flows beyond the patient’s immediate vicinity. Surgeries commonly use room scrubbers for cyclical extraction, but these do not offer a viable means of controlling virus spread.
Said Ziolkowski: “This extraction system is the result of deep dental sector knowledge informed by over 30 years of innovation. The technology has a significant role to play, alongside infection prevention control measures and in combination with PPE, in safeguarding dental surgery staff from the spread of virus and helping to establish COVID-19 secure environments that will instil confidence among the wider community.”
BOFA is a global leader in portable extraction systems, applying high quality design and engineering to the development of technologies proven to remove potentially harmful contaminants from workplace environments.
https://bofainternational.com/en/news/dentalpro-aerosol/
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