6 minute read
Keep it Local: OU College of Dentistry
OU College of Dentistry
By: Fernando Luis Esteban Florez DDS, PhD, MS
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Figure 1. Dr. Esteban Florez demonstrating the proper positioning of the Pro-TecT-Shield over a phantom head coupled to the collison nebulizer used to suspend particles in air (right); 2-D model of the Green Clinic illustrating the air vents/exhausts (red squares), dental chairs (blue/gray), cabinetry (green). The red circle on the blue chair indicates the position of the collison nebulizer. Numbers in the model indicate the locations where the analysis of particle concentrations took place (right, adapted from Esteban Florez et al., 2021).
A new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified by Chinese health authorities in December of 2019. Shortly thereafter, on January 9, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 59 new cases of this mysterious and highly infectious pneumonia-like disease were reported in Wuhan hospitals. On January 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that a Washington state resident became the first person in the United States to have contracted the new SARS-CoV-2. Two days later, Wuhan hospitals announced that 13 additional deaths and over 300 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed. Because of the highly contagious nature of the disease, Chinese officials implemented a rigorous lockdown that impacted millions of citizens in Wuhan and Huanggang. On January 31, 2020, the WHO confirmed 200 deaths and over 9,800 new cases of COVID-19 across many countries including Germany, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the United States. Based on the rapid rate of spread, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ,Director General, WHO, said that the agency was “…deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity of the outbreak…” before declaring COVID-19 a pandemic of global proportions. It was not until March 13, 2020, that former President Donald J. Trump declared the novel coronavirus a national emergency. On March 20, 2020, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Dentistry (OUCOD) paused all inperson clinical and educational operations. Employees were instructed to work remotely and only mission-critical personnel were authorized back on campus. In dentistry, the utilization of rotary instruments (low- and highspeed) and ultrasonic scalers results in the formation of significant amounts of aerosols containing a broad variety of microorganisms. Due to the nature of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via aerosol transmission, OUCOD researcher, Esteban Florez, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Head of Dental Biomaterials, began work on developing improved engineering controls capable of decreasing the risk transmission of respiratory infectious diseases in dental settings. In order to achieve that goal, Dr. Esteban Florez became a member of the OU Emergency Equipment Taskforce lead by Dr. Tom Wavering, Ph.D., who is the Executive Director of the Tom Love Innovation Hub (I-HUB). The taskforce had the objective of connecting OU researchers in Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa to generate new technologies to combat the COVID-19 threat.
A collaboration between OUCOD and the I-HUB was established by Drs. Esteban Florez and Wavering to design and produce a new aerosol evacuation system (ProTecT-Shield). The team was composed of Brandt Smith (Laboratory Director, I-HUB), Tyler Thibodeau (undergraduate student, OU School of Industrial and Systems Engineering), Dr. Paul Mullasseril (Dean, OUCOD), Mr. Michael Ferguson (Senior Associate Dean for Finances, OUCOD), Dr. Sharukh Khajotia (Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, OUCOD) and Dr. Chalmers Rieger Wood III (Director of Tulsa Clinic, OUCOD). Following this, Dr. Esteban Florez established a research collaboration with experts in the field of aerosol management and control, Drs. Evan Floyd and Changjie Cai from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health of the OUHSC Hudson College of Public Health, in order to test ProTecT-Shield’s efficacy in evacuating particles of know diameters (0.10 μm to 20.0 μm). The testing of the Pro-TecT-Shield took place in
the Green Clinic (12 dental chairs, 1.8 m apart) in OUCOD and was conducted by Dr. Cai and Mr. Oni using a collison nebulizer to suspend the particles in air and two identical, previously calibrated portable real-time aerosol laser particle spectrometers to determine the concentrations of particles (of given diameters) in 70 different locations in the Green Clinic (shown in Figure 1, to the right). The results of that experiment have demonstrated that the Pro-TecT-Shield was capable of significantly decreasing (by 8.56-fold) the airborne spread of particles of greatest concern for the transmission of COVID-19 in dentistry. A recent publication indicated that “The ProTecT-Shield was designed to be inexpensive, completely adjustable, and to function in a hands-free manner so that the dentist and dental assistant are not required to hold, guide, or aim the Pro-TecT-Shield to improve its aerosol removal efficiency.” (Florez et al., 2021). More information regarding the results of this exciting project can be found at https://aip. scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0056229.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fernando Luis Esteban Florez DDS, PhD, MS is Division Head of Dental Biomaterials at the OU College of Dentistry. Education: Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Doctorate in Restorative Dentistry, The São Paulo State University, Araraquara College of Dentistry, Araraquara, SP, Brazil Masters in Restorative Dentistry, The São Paulo State University, Araraquara College of Dentistry, Araraquara, SP, Brazil Doctor in Dental Surgery, The University of Marília, Marília City, SP, Brazil Select Honors & Accomplishments: Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honors Society, Oklahoma Omicron Pi Chapter The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Faculty Leadership Program, The University of Oklahoma Office of Technology Development, OU Growth Fund Award Winner, The Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources, Translating Practice into Research Program (TPIR)
OKLAHOMA HEALTH PROFESSIONALS PROGRAM
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Health Professionals Program (OHPP) has provided services to over 1,000 physicians and health care providers with alcohol and chemical dependence. OHPP is an outreach program designed to support and monitor medical and allied health professionals throughout Oklahoma who are experiencing difficulty with substance abuse.
The OHPP continues to be a leader nationally in identifying problems, assisting in treatment, and returning to practice health care professionals who have suffered from substance abuse or dependency.
OHPP services are confidential and include expert consultation and intervention designed to encourage health care professionals to seek help for substance abuse and behavioral concerns.
When an individual contacts the OHPP about a health care professional or about himself or herself, the director or designated associate director assesses the situation and assists in guiding the health care professional.
Participation with OHPP is voluntary and confidential. OHPP will strongly urge a professional who is ill to get help, and although OHPP does not provide direct treatment, we will suggest specific treatment options. We respond to the concerns of families, colleagues, and hospitals by providing coordinated interventions and referrals to treatment.
In addition, OHPP hosts a number of support group meetings open to all health care professionals, students, residents in recovery as well as those seeking peer support.
OHPP recognizes the difficulty of reporting a colleague who may be impaired. Because of the potential risk to patient care, OHPP encourages medical professionals to make referrals if a problem exists, no matter how long there has been a problem.
