Mexican dentist Adela Rendon Campiglio and biomedical engineer Fernando Aviles have created a Covid-19 protective suit for dental professionals.
In an interview with the Milenio newspaper, Rendon noted that dental treatment should not be delayed due to the virus.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, an order was issued to suspend dental treatment as much as possible and consider only urgent cases. After some time, the usual clinical cases turned into urgent ones, due to untimely intervention. The reality is dental care is needed”, she said.
The specialist explained that the pre-pandemic sanitary measures used in her profession are now inadequate, so she consulted with Aviles about the development of a protective suit and an acrylic hood.
“This suit is great because it keeps us completely isolated,” she says, noting that the filtered air that circulates inside the suit helps the healthcare providers stay cool and the hood eliminates the need for a mask or goggles. If the suit is accidentally torn during the procedure, air will escape from the inside, but no new air will enter.
Other measures that Rendon Campiglio uses in his clinic are sterilization of the environment using devices, as well as a preliminary survey of patients to assess whether they have symptoms of coronavirus.
Rendon Campiglio explained that the suit is easy to move around because it is lightweight and can be used many times.
“You don’t have the mask, you don’t have the googles, they are marking your face, you can move freely,” he explained. The specialist explained that this suit is still a prototype, so improvements continue to be made based on its work, but estimates that they are not expensive and will help save on the purchase of other protective equipment.
The suits contain the same system as the capsules used to transport patients infected with covid-19, thus guaranteeing its effectiveness, the dentist said.
While the work is still pending, Rendon hopes the suit and hood can eventually be used in other medical fields to protect medical staff and patients, and save money by eliminating the need to buy masks and glasses.
Source: milenio.com
