Minimising droplets and aerosol generation with art technique and Biodentine

In the current troubled times, dental professionals are on the front line of health care and do their best to continue to provide high quality dental care to patients, particularly those in need of emergency dental treatment.

French company Septodont has reaffirmed its commitment to do everything it can do to support dentists worldwide. With this in mind, it has released recommended modifications to some procedures to help protect the health of dental practitioners around the globe by minimising the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles through aerosol generation.

When patients present with a dental emergency caused by extensive dental caries in a tooth, this urgent situation can be managed with minimally invasive procedures and with no or reduced aerosol generation. These minimally invasive biologically based approaches aim to maintain the vitality of the pulp and are supported by the European Society of Endodontology (ESE). Providing ART (Atraumatic Restorative Treatment) is very relevant at the present time. In this ART procedure, the dentist removes infected carious dentine by using only hand instruments such as excavators (i.e. without using any high speed/air turbine dental drills), after which the cavity can be restored in the same visit.

Thanks to its high biocompatibility, Septodont's BIODENTINE can be placed directly in deep cavities with no pulp exposure and also placed directly onto the dental pulp. This means that it can be used as the base of the cavity - regardless of how deep the cavity is - and then overlaid with composite resin (replacing the enamel), all in the same appointment. This avoids a second appointment and the need to use a drill in that second appointment. Clinical data have shown high success rates for pulp capping procedures using BIODENTINE when combined with manual excavation of soft infected dentine using round burs in a slow speed handpiece (Hegde et al. 2017).

Launched nearly 10 years ago, BIODENTINE is a must-have product when it comes to Vital Pulp Therapy. Acknowledged and supported by more than 700 publications worldwide, BIODENTINE has been responsible for saving the health of the dental pulp in millions of teeth around the globe.