Projects

034 – Monitoring exposure risk to SARS-CoV-2 for dental practitioners during aerosol generating procedures

• Chief Investigator A: Dr Rachael Moses
• Chief Investigator B: Prof Alastair Sloan
• Associate Investigators: Prof Stuart Dashper, Prof Peter Parashos, Dr Mihiri Silva, Dr James Fernando

Introduction

Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the discovery that the virus can be spread through aerosols, there has been concern about the risk of performing aerosol-generating procedures within the dental setting. A bio-aerosol sampler device (BioSpot-GEM™) is capable of extracting aerosols from the environment for subsequent gene expression analysis, through qPCR. This will determine whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus is present within the dental clinics and the potential risk to dental practitioners and other patients. A pilot study is currently underway assessing the aerosols generated within the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and the Melbourne Dental Clinic.

Aim

• To monitor presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus within dental setting during aerosol-generating procedures and compare to control samples when non-aerosol-generating procedures are performed.
• To determine if clinic layout has an impact on exposure risk to dental practitioners and other patients and monitor persistence of SARS-CoV-2 virus to remain within the clinic.

Rationale

With the rise of new variants, levels of SARS-CoV-2 remain high and with it the risk of exposure to dental practitioners and other patients. Variations in dental clinic layout will impact air flow in each clinic, which could affect the aerosol exposure risk. The outcome will be measured through use of gene expression analysis, using qPCR, detecting for SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the outcome from this study is beneficial during the winter months when the risk of exposure to influenza virus is heightened.

Methodology 

Aerosol samples will be collected from four sites across Victoria, with 25 samples collected at each site; this will comprise of 20 samples collected during aerosol-generating procedures and five control samples collected when aerosol-generating procedures are not occurring.

Aerosols will be collected using a bio-aerosol sampler, which will be subsequently analysed for the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2. The samples will be collected in the clinics/hospitals where the dental procedures are occurring. Clinic layout will also be recorded to determine whether the layout and proximity of the bio-sampler to the patient impacts on aerosol collection.

The expression of SARS-CoV-2 will be measured through use of qPCR to determine gene expression across the different clinical settings and normalised to a housekeeping gene; additionally, control samples will be obtained from within the same clinics but when aerosol-generating procedures are not performed to provide a baseline exposure risk. Following qPCR analysis, all samples will be destroyed as routine biological waste.

What are the expected outcomes?

It is anticipated the results of this study will provide information on the potential risk of generating aerosols in a variety of settings, and how the clinical layout and subsequent air flow can impact on this exposure.