Divergent bacterial signatures in dental clinic bioaerosols: a real-field investigation.

Authors

Yingjun Liu, Chen Chen, Di Zhang, Jing Huang, Bin Zhao, Na An

Published in

The Journal of hospital infection. Oct 13, 2026. Epub Oct 13, 2026.

Abstract

Dental procedures generate bioaerosols containing oral microorganisms, posing a potential cross-infection risk. Effective infection control requires real-world data on aerosol behaviour in clinical settings.
To characterize particulate matter and bacterial profiles during active ultrasonic periodontal scaling under routine clinical conditions.
Sampling occurred under background and ultrasonic scaling conditions. Airborne particles were monitored in real-time using an optical particle sizer. Bioaerosols were collected using an Andersen six-stage sampler (culturable) and a filter-based high-flow pump (non-culturable). Surface samples were obtained from personal protective equipment (PPE) and environmental surfaces. Bacterial communities were analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing.
A notable decoupling was observed between physical and biological aerosol profiles: although ultrasonic instrumentation produced a substantial surge in sub-micron particles, culturable microbial recovery was predominantly concentrated within the respirable 1.1-3.3 μm fractions. High-throughput sequencing revealed clear spatial differentiation in bacterial communities. Microbial contamination was heavily confined to the clinician's PPE within the immediate splash zone. Airborne bacteria differed significantly from those on PPE (ANOSIM R = 0.633, p = 0.001), whereas clinical air and peripheral non-touch surfaces shared an indistinguishable ambient microbiome (R = 0.095, p = 0.249), with oral pathogens rarely detected in either compartment.
Under the specific conditions evaluated, total particle counts do not reflect culturable bacterial load, which is concentrated in the 1.1-3.3 μm respirable fraction. Bacterial contamination remains predominantly localized to the operative field and PPE, with minimal dispersion to ambient air. Accordingly, physical particle metrics should not be used as direct indicators of bacterial hazard, and clinician protection relies primarily on strict PPE compliance.

PMID:
42869382
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Oct 2026.

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