Table 4.

Fungal contamination on used surgical masks by studied dental depts.: Inside and outside areas of the used masks (n=240)

Studied Dept to collect sample	Mean±SD of fungal contamination (cfu/ml/piece)
	Inside mask	Outside mask
Outpatient department (n=40)	16±7	37±13
Oral and maxillofacial surgery (n=40)	11±6	34±13
Dept of pedodontics (n=15)	15±9	25±16
Dept of endodontics (n=45)	14±5	32±13
Dept of periodontics (n=65)	15±5	25±7
Dental emergency room (n=35)	15±3	35±13
Total (n=240)	14±6*	32±13*

*Statistically significant difference by paired t test, P<0.001