• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.137-142
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the improvement of indoor air quality management in dental clinic by investigating the level of indoor air quality recognition among dental clinic workers. The questionnaire survey was conducted for about 4 weeks from May 20 to June 20, 2018 in dental clinics located in Jeollanamdo area and 143 were used as the analysis data. The method of indoor air quality management in dental clinic was preferred to "natural ventilation" method and the number of natural ventilation was 1 to 2 times per day and the results of survey on indoor environment satisfaction showed that satisfaction level was lowest in noise and smell items. The types of subjective symptoms experienced by workers working at dental clinics are "cough", "eye burn", and "headache" and a survey on the degree of the relationship between subjective symptoms and indoor air quality showed that 94.4% (135) of respondents answered "very relevant" and "slightly related". As a result of multiple regression analysis, the variables affecting the indoor air quality satisfaction of the dental clinic staff were analyzed as the items such as lighting, noise, main work, number of patients, comparing indoor and outdoor air quality and among them, "comparing indoor and outdoor air quality" was analyzed as having a great influence. To improve the indoor air quality satisfaction of dental clinic worker adequate ventilation, designate the person responsible for the indoor air quality management and periodic measurement efforts will be necessary.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.163-170
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of noise from dental clinics on workers and to establish a reduction plan. The noise generated by the treatment instrument(Ultrasonic scaler, Hand piece, 3-way syringe, Suction, Compressor) was measured in order to determine the characteristics(level, frequency) of the noise during medical treatment(Oral prophylaxis, Conservation treatment, Prosthesis treatment, Implant Scaling, Tooth eliminating). We also assessed the noise levels in dental clinic using evaluation indicators such as NR-curves and NRN. The results of the analysis showed that the noise generated during the treatment was 85dB(A) ~ 70dB(A) and that the high frequency component was dominant, which would affect the workers working at the dental clinic. The NR-curve analysis showed NR-67 to NR-83 and the high frequency components of 4kHz to 8kHz were predominant and far exceeded noise levels in the workplace. To minimize the noise damage of workers and to provide high quality medical service, it is necessary to establish countermeasures such as wearing a soundproof and periodic hearing tests.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.348-354
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• 2011

Objectives: This cross-sectional study was performed in the Dental School of Prince of Songkla University to ascertain noise exposure of dentists, dental assistants, and laboratory technicians. A noise spectral analysis was taken to illustrate the spectra of dental devices. Methods: A noise evaluation was performed to measure the noise level at dental clinics and one dental laboratory from May to December 2010. Noise spectral data of dental devices were taken during dental practices at the dental services clinic and at the dental laboratory. A noise dosimeter was set following the Occupational Safety and Health Administration criteria and then attached to the subjects' collar to record personal noise dose exposure during working periods. Results: The peaks of the noise spectrum of dental instruments were at 1,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz which depended on the type of instrument. The differences in working areas and job positions had an influence on the level of noise exposure (p < 0.01). Noise measurement in the personal hearing zone found that the laboratory technicians were exposed to the highest impulsive noise levels (137.1 dBC). The dentists and dental assistants who worked at a pedodontic clinic had the highest percent noise dose (4.60 ${\pm}$ 3.59%). In the working areas, the 8-hour time-weighted average of noise levels ranged between 49.7-58.1 dBA while the noisiest working area was the dental laboratory. Conclusion: Dental personnel are exposed to noise intensities lower than occupational exposure limits. Therefore, these dental personnel may not experience a noise-induced hearing loss.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1123-1128
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• 2009

Noise radiated from medical treatment at dental clinic will affect the patients. On such point of view, We investigated the noise characteristics in case of medical treatment (scaling, tooth eliminating) and non-medical examination (idling) and also evaluated the degree of indoor noise using the evaluation index such as PSIL, NRN and made up a questionnaire about the reactions to noise. As a result of noise evaluation, it shows that the range of noise level is 67.7~78.3 dB(A) and frequency is very high (above 4 k Hz) and respondents are affected by noise (unpleasantness, hesitation to visit dental clinic, shivering with noise, being astonishment). Analysis by PSIL showed that it was no problem to conversation between worker and patient. But it exceeded the noise permit level in working space by NR-curve. To relieve a fear of noise in patients, they are considered to offer the ear protection, choose the low noisevibration equipment and use the masking effect. They are of great advantage to dental clinics to i prove dental service and competitiveness.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.267-272
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• 2012

Dental professionals are exposed to various occupational risks, among which the problem of hearing damage has been newly revealed. There have been some researches reporting that noise occurring in a dental office exceeds the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Standards. Especially, the pediatric dentists are repeatedly exposed to an additional noise source called the crying sound of children in addition to all kinds of noises from dental instruments. Accordingly, this study intended to investigate the noise environment likely to affect pediatric dentists and to examine the possibility of resultant hearing damages. The level of noise was measured respectively, when various dental instruments (ultrasonic scaler, high-speed handpiece, low-speed handpiece) are operated, when children are crying, and when both occasions take place simultaneously (from the distance of 30 cm) with a portable noise meter. And the daily duration of pediatric dentists exposed to the noise environment was surveyed. The results were compared with the standard value of noise threshold of NIOSH, OSHA, and that of hearing damage of CRA News letter respectively. Considering the intensity and exposure time, the noise environment of pediatric dentists exceeds the allowable noise threshold values. Even only one exposure to crying child was likely to lead to permanent hearing damage. Comparatively, pediatric dentists have a higher risk for occupational hearing damages, and some active measures are thought highly desirable to minimize it.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.43-47
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• 2015

Purpose : The aim of this study was to report a follow-up study on the prognosis following the arthrocentsis for the painful temporomandibular dysfunction not responsible to the conservative splint therapies. Arthrocentsis of TMJ is a simple precedure that can be performed in the out-patient clinic under the local anesthesia without any reported complications. Method : Seventy patients had been followed after the arthrocentsis for over 6 months. Maximum mouth opening, TMJ pain, TMJ noise, and their changes by time were examined and compared statistically. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated in terms of the postoperative range of maximal mouth opening (MMO) and the degree of postoperative pain score. Predictors which was analyzed were age, duration of painful locking, MMO, the degree of pain, preoperative clicking and the amounts of irrigation fluid. Result : The result of this study were as follow; 1) Mouth opening was improved from 32.6 mm to 42.4 mm in the maximum inter-incisal distance. 2) TMJ pain was decreased in 45.7%. 3) TMJ clicking and noise disappeared in 60.0%, but recurred in 40.0%. Conclusion : Amounts of irrigated solution recovered to normal MMO and the appeareance of perioperative clkicking may be predictors of the successful results of arthrocenetesis of ADD without reduction of TMJ.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.176-184
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• 2023

Background: Recently, a piezoelectric ultrasonic scaler based on a feedback control mechanism was introduced for pain relief. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a new ultrasonic scaler in reducing pain and discomfort in adults. Methods: A newly introduced ultrasonic scaler (Master 700^®) was used as the test device and a conventional ultrasonic scaler device (PIEZON^®) was used as the control device. Forty-one healthy adults visited the dental clinic for dental scaling but did not undergo scaling or periodontal treatment within 6 months. Intraoral examinations were performed before scaling and 3 months later; before scaling, both devices were randomly assigned on the left or right side of each dentition (split-mouth model) and scaling was performed by a registered dental hygienist. The levels of pain and discomfort during scaling were evaluated subjectively and objectively using the visual analog scale (VAS) and physiological monitoring of the heart rate (HR), respectively. Time was measured for each device. Results: All clinical indicators, except bleeding on probing, significantly improved with both devices. The treatment times were 7 minutes, 13 minutes (control) and 6 minutes, 59 minutes (test). VAS scores for pain were 4.89±2.12 (control) and 4.58±2.77 (test) points out of 10; for noise, these were 4.68±2.33 (control) and 4.55±2.55 (test), and for vibration, the values were 4.26±2.0 (control) and 4.18±2.48 (test). HR averages were 72.34±3.39 (control) and 75.97±9.78 (test) beats/min. No statistically significant differences were observed between the devices. Conclusion:The pain, discomfort levels, and scaling time of the new piezoelectric ultrasonic scaler did not differ from those of the conventional device. Further research and development are necessary for more prominent pain-relief effects of scaling devices.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.158-164
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• 2019

Recently many studies to reduce the noise of dental hand piece which generate inevitably mechanical sound to offend to the ear of a patient have been spotlighted. Generally, methods of adding a sound absorbing material inside the exhaust valve, air pump of machine or automobile are widely reported as optimal way to reduce the mechanical noise. In this paper we studied a new UV laser aided manufacturing of micro-porous structure of EPP substrate and applied dental hand piece to improve the efficiency of sound absorption. A lot of micro-sized pores were fabricated with UV laser processing on the surface of sliced EPP substrate. From fundamental experiments, more high-performance of micro-porous EPP substrate has finally demonstrated for sound-absorbing structure of the micro muffler inside dental hand piece, which actually has the excellent potential to apply a lot of potable machine.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.249-254
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• 2020

It is difficult to control children who exhibit negative behavior in dental clinics. Various methods are used for preventing pediatric dental patients from being afraid and for eliminating the factors that cause psychological anxiety. However, when it is difficult to apply this routine behavioral control technique, sedation therapy is used to provide quality treatment. When the sleep anesthesia treatment is performed at the dentist's clinic, it is challenging to identify emergencies using the current breath detection method. When a dentist treats a patient that is under the influence of an anesthetic, the patient is unconscious and cannot immediately respond, even if the airway is blocked, which can cause unstable breathing or even death in severe cases. During emergencies, respiratory instability is not easily detected with first aid using conventional methods owing to time lag or noise from medical devices. Therefore, abnormal breathing needs to be evaluated in real-time using an intuitive method. In this paper, we propose a method for identifying abnormal breathing in real-time using an intuitive method. Respiration signals were measured using a 3M Littman electronic stethoscope when the patient's posture was supine. The characteristics of the signals were analyzed by applying the signal processing theory to distinguish abnormal breathing from normal breathing. By applying a short-time Fourier transform to the respiratory signals, the frequency range for each patient was found to be different, and the frequency of abnormal breathing was distributed across a broader range than that of normal breathing. From the wavelet transform, time-frequency information could be identified simultaneously, and the change in the amplitude with the time could also be determined. When the difference between the amplitude of normal breathing and abnormal breathing in the time domain was very large, abnormal breathing could be identified.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.763-770
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• 1997

The air abrasive technique is a non-mechanical method by which teeth are treated before restoration and stains and calculi are removed from tooth surfaces using the kinetic energy of small particles. The air abrasive technique in dentistry was first introduced in the 1950's with as instrument called 'Airdent'. But, as the main restorative materials of the period were amalgam and gold, and the instrument's inability to control the flow of particles caused the particles to be spread throughout the clinics, widespread use was not possible. In the 1990's, as these techincal problems were solved and more interest in new restorative materials rose in an effort to preserve sound tooth structure, new developements took place in instruments related to the air abrasive technique. The air abrasive technique produces less pressure, vibration and heat that might cause patient discomfort and facilitates the preservation of sound tooth structure. It also reduces the need for anesthesia and is less harmful to the pulp. Other advantages include increase in dentin bonding strength of composite resin, lower possibility of saliva contamination and maintenance of a dry field. But there is not direct contact between the nozzle and the tooth, the operator cannot use his or her tactile sense and must rely solely upon visual input. Other disadvantages are: the tooth preparation depends on the operator's ability; alpha-alumina particles, after bouncing off the tooth surface, cause damage to dental mirrors; the equipment is expensive and takes up a certain amount of space in the clinic. The author conducted case report using the air abrasive technique on patient visiting the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Seoul National University Dental Hospital and arrived at the following conclusions. 1. The tooth preparation capability of different air abrasive devices varied widely among manufacturers. 2. It was more effective in treating early caries lesions and stains compared to lesions where caries had already progressed to produce soft dentin. 3. The cold stream and noise caused by the evacuation system was a major cause of discomfort to pediatric patients. 4. As there is no direct contact with tooth surface when using the air abrasive technique for tooth preparation, considerable experience and skill is required for proper tooth preparation.