SINGAPORE: With the aim of preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a portable tent-like shield for use during dental procedures. Named the Dental Droplet and Aerosol Reducing Tent—the Dental DART—the foldable transparent structure is placed around the patient’s head in order to create a barrier that reduces direct and indirect exposure to viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.
The Dental DART was
developed specifically for dental procedures and is based on the initial DART
device that was developed in 2020 by NUS researchers in order to protect
healthcare workers during the pandemic. In an NUS press release, the lead
researcher on the project, Prof. Freddy Boey, deputy president for innovation and
enterprise at the university, said: “The Dental DART is a design evolution, and
has been prepared to protect dentists and their patients from potential
infectious agents present in the aerosols that are generated during dental
procedures.”
The Dental DART has
an adjustable width of between 60 cm and 70 cm so that it can be used on dental
chairs of different sizes. The device has no underside, which permits air to
enter it, and it features three access points so that dentists and nurses can
reach into it in order to perform dental procedures. The device attaches to the
vacuum pump installed on the dental chair so that potentially infected aerosols
and droplets can be removed from the tent and directed into the scavenging
system. According to NUS, the tent decreases the number of materials
contaminated by the clinician’s hands, arms and instruments and limits the
spread of aerosols onto surfaces in the treatment room.
NUS said that the
researchers had tested the device in clinical settings by measuring bacterial
content on personal protective equipment (PPE) face shields worn by the
treatment teams and on the surface of the dental chair light, before and after
high-contamination scaling procedures. “The results showed [there] was no
increase in the number of viable bacteria on these surfaces after the treatment
with the use of the Dental DART. On the other hand, without the use of the
tent, there was a significant increase in contamination by 14 times,” NUS said.
“Dental DART can
help provide a safer environment in the dental clinic setting, and decrease the
anxiety and psychological distresses imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic”
– Prof. Mandeep
Singh Duggal, NUS
Dr Vinicius Rosa, a
co-inventor of the device, commented: “Personal protective equipment, or PPE,
can be infected after being exposed to aerosols from dental procedures. The use
of the Dental DART can decrease the PPE exposure to aerosols and prevent
further environmental contamination at the time the clinicians remove their
arms, hands, and instruments from the tent.”
The research team
has filed a patent for the Dental DART and hopes to collaborate with the
healthcare sector and other industry partners in order to make the device
available to dental teams in Singapore and around the world.
Co-inventor Prof.
Mandeep Singh Duggal, of NUS Dentistry, said that the Dental DART could play a
role in decreasing the stress experienced by patients and dental professionals
during the pandemic. He explained: “Dentistry is an essential service and it has
suffered tremendously since the beginning of this pandemic. Many dental service
providers in Singapore have imposed a complete ban on aerosol-generating
procedures during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. While imposing such extreme measures
is understandable, it has also left thousands of people without proper
treatment. Our Dental DART can help provide a safer environment in the dental
clinic setting, and decrease the anxiety and psychological distresses imposed
by the COVID-19 pandemic on all parties involved.”