Face masks – is your dental team protected?

In these crazy times, there are many organisations selling masks and face coverings of all types and, unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstandings about the levels of protection.

Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic still rages, so does the debate. Government advice seems to be forever changing, particularly in regard to the general public, but employers needing to protect staff dealing with patients need to be very careful about what they are providing.

A good place to start is probably defining exactly what we are talking about. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO):¹

Medical Masks are defined as surgical or procedure masks that are flat or pleated, they are affixed to the head with straps that go around the ears or head or both……. They aim to balance high filtration, adequate breathability and optionally, fluid penetration resistance (filtering 3 micrometre droplets)

Filtering facepiece respirators must filter 0.075micrometre solid particles and must seal around the wearers face