Table 3.
Particle mass concentrations compared to background.
| Procedure | <PM1 < 1 μm particle mass concentration, μg/m3 |
PM1-PM5 1–5 μm particle mass concentration, μg/m3 |
>PM5 > 5 μm particle mass concentration, μg/m3 |
Total PM Total particle mass concentration, μg/m3 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIAN | |||||
| Median (IQR) | |||||
| Air turbine handpiece (N = 8) | Background | 0.04 (0.03–0.05) | 0.30 (0.11–0.58) | 0 (0–1.43) | 0.40 (0.14–2.17) |
| Median | 0.06 (0.04–0.12) | 0.40 (0.21–1.03) | 0.16 (0–0.97) | 1.01 (0.25–2.59) | |
| Maximum | 0.07 (0.05–0.16) | 0.44 (0.32–0.85) | 1.31 (0–3.73) | 1.81 (0.58–4.62) | |
| P-value* | 0.046 | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | 0.006 | NS | NS | NS (p = 0.074) | |
| Low-speed dental handpiece (N = 30) | Background | 0.06 (0.03–0.21) | 0.27 (0.07–0.43) | 0 (0–0.08) | 0.39 (0.16–0.93) |
| Median | 0.06 (0.03–0.21) | 0.19 (0.08–0.38) | 0 (0–0) | 0.31 (0.17–0.60) | |
| Maximum | 0.06 (0.04–0.22) | 0.25 (0.10–0.62) | 0.32 (0–0.94) | 0.93 (0.46–1.60) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | 0.021 | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | 0.022 | 0.013 | |
| High-speed dental handpiece (N = 6) | Background | 0.03 (0.02–0.04) | 0.16 (0.04–0.40) | 0 (0–0.08) | 0.28 (0.06–0.47) |
| Median | 0.03 (0.02–0.10) | 0.11 (0.01–1.06) | 0 (0–2.98) | 0.15 (0.04–4.11) | |
| Maximum | 0.05 (0.02–0.13) | 0.22 (0.11–1.44) | 0.48 (0–5.74) | 0.76 (0.27–7.14) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | NS, p = 0.06 | NS | |
| Ultrasonic scaler (N = 31) | Background | 0.06 (0.03–0.13) | 0.09 (0.04–0.48) | 0 (0–0) | 0.25 (0.07–0.77) |
| Median | 0.06 (0.02–0.12) | 0.07 (0.02–0.45) | 0 (0–0) | 0.17 (0.08–0.53) | |
| Maximum | 0.07 (0.03–0.13) | 0.25 (0.12–0.48) | 0 (0–0.96) | 0.45 (0.2–1.63) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS, p = 0.079 | 0.018 | 0.034 | |
| Periodontal treatment, manual (N = 60) | Background | 0.04 (0.03–0.09) | 0.15 (0.03–0.37) | 0 (0–0) | 0.22 (0.09–0.81) |
| Median | 0.04 (0.02–0.08) | 0.04 (0.01–0.15) | 0 (0–0) | 0.12 (0.05–0.21) | |
| Maximum | 0.05 (0.03–0.10) | 0.23 (0.08–0.43) | 0.47 (0–2.30) | 0.94 (0.20–2.48) | |
| P-value* | NS | 0.004 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| P-value** | NS | 0.048 | <0.001 | 0.001 | |
| Local and topical anesthesia (N = 31) | Background | 0.05 (0.04–0.12) | 0.19 (0.06–0.52) | 0 (0–0.32) | 0.27 (0.12–1.16) |
| Median | 0.05 (0.04–0.12) | 0.15 (0.03–0.37) | 0 (0–1.15) | 0.25 (0.13–1.60) | |
| Maximum | 0.05 (0.04–0.12) | 0.17 (0.08–0.51) | 0.62 (0–3.50) | 1.31 (0.16–3.63) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | 0.018 | 0.045 | |
| Oral examination (N = 52) | Background | 0.09 (0.03–0.16) | 0.34 (0.16–0.46) | 0 (0–2.05) | 0.63 (0.31–2.35) |
| Median | 0.06 (0.03–0.16) | 0.13 (0.07–0.26) | 0 (0–0) | 0.23 (0.14–0.40) | |
| Maximum | 0.10 (0.04–0.17) | 0.30 (0.16–0.63) | 2.06 (0–2.94) | 2.32 (0.66–3.84) | |
| P-value* | NS | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | <0.001 | 0.004 | |
| Intraoral X-ray (N = 24) | Background | 0.18 (0.12–0.25) | 0.17 (0.05–0.25) | 0 (0–0) | 0.38 (0.27–0.80) |
| Median | 0.17 (0.06–0.23) | 0.12 (0.05–0.22) | 0 (0–0) | 0.30 (0.20–0.53) | |
| Maximum | 0.18 (0.06–0.24) | 0.15 (0.10–0.29) | 0 (0–2.54) | 0.46 (0.27–3.06) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| Root canal treatment (N = 12) | Background | 0.31 (0.18–0.36) | 0.22 (0.05–0.46) | 0 (0–0) | 0.48 (0.32–0.88) |
| Median | 0.23 (0.11–0.35) | 0.13 (0.05–0.22) | 0 (0–0) | 0.40 (0.21–0.62) | |
| Maximum | 0.35 (0.23–0.47) | 0.51 (0.22–1.25) | 0.48 (0–2.54) | 2.32 (0.64–3.39) | |
| P-value* | NS | NS | NS | NS | |
| P-value** | NS | NS | 0.018 | 0.015 | |
P-value* for median compared to background.
P-value** for maximum compared to background.
Statistical significance tested with non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. NS refers to non-significant. PM refers to particulate matter.