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Within our extensive catalogue of online medical and dental supplies in Australia are the most competitively priced face masks available nationwide. These premium Australian-made products offer superior protection for surgical, clinical, and everyday use.
Wearing face masks has long been a routine aspect of PPE in healthcare settings in Australia. But in the past two years, wearing face masks has become common practice within the general population, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why Do Dentists Wear Masks?
Like other health professionals, dentists routinely wear masks for infection control. This is because, in their day-to-day work, dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists are exposed to infectious particles from their patients’ mouths. They also work in close proximity and can easily pass their particles onto their patients.
These potentially infectious particles include:
- breathable viral particles
- saliva-borne bacteria
- blood-borne bacteria
- infectious tissues (these can easily become airborne or aerosolized by spattering during the cleaning or drilling process).
Dentists wear face masks to:
- reduce the risk of passing airborne viruses or bacteria from themselves to their patients
- minimise the risk of passing biological materials between their patients
- Protect themselves from transmissible viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms from their patients’ breath, blood, saliva, or oral tissue fragments.
The Science Behind Face Masks – and how it applies to COVID-19
Face masks have been proven over many, many years to provide an effective physical barrier to airborne or aerosolised droplets that carry viruses, bacteria, fungi, or other harmful microorganisms. In a clinical setting, this has long been accepted practice to protect both the practitioner and the patient.
When properly worn, face masks are also effective in reducing the risk of transmitting and contracting COVID-19, which is a disease caused by a specific coronavirus.
Coronavirus transmission between people almost always occurs through airborne respiratory droplets. These are released when an infected person talks, shouts, and especially if they sneeze or cough.
The droplets can travel up to ten metres for a sneeze. If droplets land in the mouth or nose or are inhaled by a nearby person, that person is highly likely to also contract the virus.
Based on scientific evidence, the Australian Medical Association and State Health Departments, as well as various other medical, epidemiological, and scientific institutions in Australia support and recommend the use of face masks to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 within the community.
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Face Masks Protect Others Best
Face masks are certainly effective for protecting oneself, but their most effective outcome is in protecting others.
A person who is unknowingly infected can reduce their risk of passing the virus on to others when they wear a mask. This is incredibly important to protect others who may be most vulnerable to contracting and dying from COVID-19.
This extra vulnerability may be due to old age, having an underlying health condition, experiencing an immune deficiency due to autoimmune disease or chemotherapy, people who live or work with vulnerable people (e.g. disability or aged care support workers), and for those people who can’t be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons, such as being too young or having a specific condition (e.g. undergoing cancer treatment).
Purchase high-quality face masks for both clinical uses and to help your community survive and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Adam Dental has the best products available online right now.