There is no connection between exposure to dental aerosols and related respiratory illness, said researchers at the International Association for Dental Research’s 80th General Session and Exhibition in March.
Researchers administered a detailed questionnaire to 817 dental students and residents at State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Southern California and Marquette University. The questionnaire asked students for information about demographics, year in school, exposure to the dental environment and history of respiratory disease.
"Fourth-year students routinely spend up to 30 hours a week in clinics, and first-year students spend none," said Dr. Frank A. Scannapieco, UB associate professor of oral biology and senior adviser on the study. "Clinic hours increase in linear fashion through the second and third year, so the hypothesis was that if dental aerosols were a risk, there would be an increase in respiratory illness among dental students by year as their clinic exposure increased."
The research team found that students reported a total of 48 respiratory conditions in the past year. When the team conducted statistical analyses on the data, they found no significant associations between the prevalence of any of the respiratory conditions and the students’ year in dental school.
