GB2597907A

GB2597907A - Protective device for dentists

Info

Publication number: GB2597907A
Application number: GB2010455.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Szasz Emilie
Original assignee: Tete A Tete
Current assignee: Tete A Tete
Priority date: 2020-07-07
Filing date: 2020-07-07
Publication date: 2022-02-16
Also published as: GB202010455D0

Abstract

The device is for protecting a dentist from the risk of infection when operating on a patient and comprises: a transparent dome enclosure to surround the patient’s head and act as a shield or barrier to aerosol generated by the patient; access openings 30,32 in the enclosure permit introduction of the dentist’s arms and working implements into the interior of the enclosure; a flexible seal 40 fitted to each opening 30,32 to seal against the dentist’s arms or working implements to prevent escape of generated aerosol. The seal 40 may be a removable slotted disc made of silicone material. The enclosure may be secured by a mounting frame to the patient’s chair and move when the height or inclination of the chair is adjusted. There may be an inlet for a vacuum source. A bracket 25 carrying a head support 27 may be secured to a rear edge of the enclosure.

Description

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR DENTISTS

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a device for protecting a dentist from the risk of infection when operating on a patient.

Background

ic On the 25th March 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic all dental procedures were suspended in the UK. Chief Dental Officers and Governments worldwide made similar public decisions The reason was a belief that Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) were contributing to the spread of COVID-19.

Following this guidance only limited emergency dental care was available due to a chronic shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and questions over what the standard PPE should be for maximum safety of patients and dental teams given that a large proportion of patients who have tested positive to COV1D-19 have been found to be symptomless.

The recommended enhanced PPE (which consists of FFP2, FFP3 respirator masks, full length surgical gowns, visors with wraparound protection and head and feet covering) is both cumbersome for staff to wear and costly if it is to be replaced after each patient treatment. The need for dental clinical staff, who are the most vulnerable workers, second only to medical teams working on COV1D-19 wards, to wear such enhanced PPE would considerably affect their work life.

This is a difficult enough situation but if with the addition of the issue of financing PPE on an ongoing and indefinite basis, the added challenge of being able to work under respirators, visors and full gowns with no air-conditioning in summer, the concern over environmental waste and last but definitely not least the true fear of COV1D19 being passed on to families, this would makes the dentists' situation untenable.

Object of the invention The invention seeks therefore to shield a dentist from the patient sufficiently during treatment to enable clinical staff to operate without needing enhanced PPE. -2 -

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for protecting a dentist from the risk of infection when operating on a patient comprising a transparent dome to surround the head of a patient and prevent any generated aerosol from being inhaled or deposited on the dentist, and access openings in the dome to permit introduction of the limbs of the dentist and working implements into the interior of the dome, a flexible seal being fitted to each access opening to seal against the limb of the dentist or the working implements to prevent escape of any generated aerosol from the dome through the access opening.

The dome may conveniently be provided with four access opening, arranged two on each side In some embodiments, each access seal is releasably secured to the dome, to permit removal for cleaning or replacement.

The seal may suitably be made of a silicone material permitting its sterilization by washing or autoclaving.

While the dome may be part of a free standing structure, it is desirable for it to be secured by means of a mounting frame to the patient's chair, so as to move with the patient when the chair height of the inclination of the chair back is adjusted.

The dome in some embodiments is movably, preferably pivotably, connected to the mounting frame. The movement is intended to allow the dome to adopt a first position in which the patient's access to the chair is unimpeded and to be moved to a second position overlying the head of the patient once seated.

The mounting frame may be secured to the shoulder of the chair either permanently, or it may be releasably clamped thereto.

The dome may be rigid and made of a reusable transparent material such as a polyacrylate or a polycarbonate. Such a material would allow the dome to be cleaned and disinfected after each patient treatment. Alternatively, it may be disposable and made of a vacuum formed material, such as PET.

Though it is believed that the shielding effect of the dome will of itself offer adequate protection against the escape of any aerosol, an inlet connector may be provided on the dome, for example in a position slightly forward of the patient's mouth so as not to obstruct the view of the dentist, to enable connection of a high volume vacuum source end thereby permit the dome to act as an extraction hood. -3 -

As aerosols tend only to spray upwards, it is believed that the dome may safely be left open around its lower edge. However, should that not prove to be the case, it is possible to adhere a releasable, and preferably disposable, flexible skirt to the perimeter of the dome to hang at the back of the chair and to seal against the torso of the patient

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of a dome when fitted to a chair and positioned over the hard of a patient, Figure 2 I a front perspective view of the dome in Figure 1 when pivoted to a second position to enable the patient to occupy the chair, Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the dome in the same position as in Figure but with a protective skirt secured to the lower edge of the dome, and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation similar to that of Figure 1 of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the drawings

The protective device show in the three figures comprises a transparent rigid seamless dome 10 secured to the shoulder region of a patient's chair 12 by means of a mounting frame 14. The illustrated mounting frame 14 comprises two bars 18 to rest against opposite surfaces of the chair 12 and clamping bolts 20 to clamp the bars 18 to the chair 12. A bracket 22 that connects the dome 10 to the mounting frame 14 allows the dome to be pivoted between the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 and the position shown in Figure 2 about an axis 23. The illustrated bracket also includes a slide to permit forward and backward movement of the dome 10 relative to the mounting frame 14.

A bracket 25 secured to the rear lower edge of the dome 10 carries at its free end a stirrup-shaped support 27 to fit under the head of the patient.

Two sealed access openings 30, 32 are provided in each side of the dome 10, one to allow the dentist to reach into the interior of the dome 10 and the other to allow introduction of a working implement. Each access opening is sealed by means of a slotted resilient disk 40, made for example of a silicone, that grips the dentist's forearm or the -4 -working implement to prevent any aerosol from escaping from the dome. Each disc 40 is releasably retained by being trapped between the body of the dome and a removable retaining ring 42 which may be screwed to the body of the dome 10 or coupled to it by a bayonet fitting. This allows the sealing discs to be removed for disinfecting, by washing or possibly autoclaving.

While a dome that is open around it lower edge may offer adequate protection, given that aerosols tend to rise rather that fall, if it should prove necessary, further shielding may be provided by releasably securing, for example adhering, a flexible skirt 50 to the dome 10, as shown in Figure 3, the skirt resting and sealing against the patient's torso at the front of the dome 10 and hanging down below the dentist's knee around the sides and rear of the dome 10, thereby obviating the need for any enhanced protection of the lower body.

It is furthermore optionally possible to provide an inlet on the dome for connection of a suction source to permit any aerosol to be sucked away. The air sucked away from the dome may be filtered and/or sterilised before being released into the ambient atmosphere.

Figure 4 shows an embodiments that differs from that of Figures 1 to 3 mainly in the shape of the dome 110. To avoid repetition, parts serving the same purpose as previously described have been allocated the same reference numerals, but preceded by a "1". In this embodiment, all the panels of the dome 110 through which the dentist views the patient's mouth are flat to avoid any optical distortion. Furthermore, the bracket 122 instead of including a pivot and slidable connection to the dome 110 is itself made of a material that is flexible but with sufficient stiffness to support the weight of the dome 110.

The illustrated embodiments were designed to attach easily on the shoulders of all dental chairs. They both allow the dome to be pivoted upwards to allow patients to lie in the chair without the fear of knocking their heads, and they can be lowered into a shielding position once a comfortable patient position has been found.

The domes have their highest point directly above the patients eyeline to help with any feelings of claustrophobia and they are at their smallest behind the patient's head to allow dentists, hygienists, and nurses to get as close to the patient as possible. The domes accommodate four-handed dentistry. The positioning and size of the access openings allow for left and right-handed dentists and dental nurses to work comfortably.

All parts of the device that encounter aerosol are easily disinfected by wiping with the usual disinfectant sprays or wipes used in all dental surgery settings. -5 -

The use of a protective device as herein proposed offers, inter alia, the following advantages: * It will allow the use of normal PPE long term and dispense with need for enhanced PPE, thus addressing the issues of procurement, cost, and landfill.

* It will eliminate or radically reduce fallow time * If still wearing a reusable stealth mask, there would be no need to place a surgical mask over it as the patient is protected.

* It will reintroduce comfort to the workplace and thereby improve to productivity. -6 -

Claims

CLAIMS1. A device for protecting a dentist from the risk of infection when operating on a patient comprising a transparent dome to surround the head of a patient and prevent any generated aerosol from being inhaled or deposited on the dentist, and access openings in thc dome to permit introduction of the limbs of the dentist and working implements into the interior of the dome, a flexible seal being fitted to each access opening to seal against the limb of the dentist or the working implements to prevent escape of any generated aerosol from the dome through the access opening.ic 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dome is provided with four access openings, arranged two on each side.3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the seal of each access opening is releasably secured to the dome.4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the seal of each access opening is a slotted disc made of a silicone material.5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the dome is secured by means of a mounting frame to the patient's chair, so as to move with the patient when the chair height of the inclination of the chair back is adjusted.6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the dome is movably connected to the mounting frame.7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the dome is pivotable relative to the mounting frame.8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the dome is slidable relative to the mounting frame 9. A device as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the mounting frame is configured for releasable clamping to the shoulder of a chair.A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the dome is rigid and made of a reusable transparent material such as a polyacrylate or a polycarbonate.11. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dome is seamless.12. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an inlet connector is provided on the dome to permit connection to the dome of a high volume vacuum source.13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a bracket carrying a head support is secured to the rear edge of the dome.