Preliminary experiments on proposals for the spread of droplets due to tooth brushing in schools / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#Coronavirus (COVID-19) has recently emerged as a major public health problem around the world. There is a high demand for health promotion programs that allow schools and local children’s centers to brush their teeth and wash their hands compared to others after lunch; and furthermore, the demand for schools with brushing facilities is twice that of schools without brushing facilities. However, students are returning home without brushing their teeth after lunch at kindergartens and schools, where face-to-face classes are conducted. This situation can be further understood by examining the education office’s official letter that considers the risk of “droplet infection” at kindergartens and schools. Thus, this pilot study is interested in identifying the relationship between brushing teeth and the spread of droplets, and proposing proper brushing guidelines for students in schools. @*Methods@#The droplet diffusion test was conducted in three ways during conversation, when brushing teeth, and when brushing teeth with the mouth closed. A Mie Scattering technique using a continuous wave (CW) laser was performed to observe and compare the distribution of droplets ejected from the oral cavity in this experiment. @*Results@#As a result, it was confirmed that the droplets that spread, while brushing the lingual surface of the maxillary anterior region, were significantly reduced when brushing the teeth with the mouth closed. @*Conclusions@#Based on the results of this study, personal hygiene education such as the school group tooth brushing project and hand washing should be continuously conducted and monitored by installing transparent partitions, and the tooth brushing technique to prevent the spread of droplets in schools.