Dental offices have long been concerned about hygiene – and not just oral hygiene. Since the 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic was first reported, dental workers have been at the forefront of dental office disinfection and using personal protective gear including gloves, masks and protective eyewear to prevent the spread of infection.
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020, dentists were rightly concerned about the spread of the virus through routine dental cleanings and procedures. One dentist in Wichita, Kansas, felt compelled to take extra steps to protect his patients and staff.
“Before we knew much about COVID-19, we were very nervous about working on patients,” said Dr. Brick Scheer of Scheer Dentistry. “We wanted something to clean the air and surfaces so the virus didn’t spread. We were looking at air-filtration systems when we discovered the top-of-the-line CASPR Technologies.”
Environmental health care company CASPR Technologies doesn’t provide filtration systems, which only episodically clean the air. Instead, CASPR can provide dental office disinfection through products that continuously attack and kill viruses, bacteria, molds and other pathogens in the air and on surfaces using a proprietary Natural Catalytic Converter™ process. CASPR takes in ambient moisture from the air and converts it into microscopic, safe levels of hydrogen peroxide that disperse through the air and on surfaces, killing pathogens along the way.
CASPR can be placed inside a building’s existing ductwork, in acoustic ceiling tiles or as a standalone CASPR Compact unit. Scheer Dentistry has CASPR Compacts in its staff and patient areas.
Dental offices have a unique need for CASPR because dental work creates aerosols. “We have to manage that aerosol closely so we don’t infect our patients and ourselves,” Dr. Scheer said. “CASPR is all about trapping particles and killing them before they can do someone harm.”
Dr. Scheer, who was recently named Dentist of the Year by the Wichita District Dental Society, says that his patients and staff feel good when they see CASPR at work in his office. “We have a lot of confidence in our infection control methods,” he said.
He added that CASPR Technologies’ products don’t just control infections, but his staff and patients have noticed another difference that the Compact units have made. “We have fewer allergy symptoms in our building than when we walk outside or go home,” Dr. Scheer said. “We consider the dental office our safe space.”