20.500.12556/RUL-189799 Electrolyzed saline coolant mitigates bacterial airborne deposition in dental procedures Background: Dental procedures generate dental spray that can transmit microorganisms. Substituting conventional coolants with antiseptics may mitigate this risk by preventing the transmission of infectious particles at the source. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the efficacy of electrolyzed saline (EOS), a hypochlorous acid (HOCl) based antiseptic as a coolant for mitigating bacterial spray deposition during ultrasonic scaling (USS) in stimulated dental procedure. Methods: The bactericidal activity of EOS (pH 7.0, 200 ppm) and 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) was tested against Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Haemophilus influenzae using a static antibacterial assay. Changes in bacterial morphology were visualized using transmission electron microscopy. A bacteria-laden dental spray model was used to simulate a patient undergoing plaque debridement procedure with ultrasonic scaler in standardized airborne transmission tunnel. Due to safety concerns, pathogen-free consortium of oral streptococci was used. Mitigation of bacterial deposition was quantified using a culture-based method. In addition, the biocompatibility of antiseptics was tested with exposure to human gingival fibroblasts (hGF) and human gingival keratinocytes (hOK). Results: In the static assay, CHX reduced all tested bacteria species to ≤10 CFU/mL within 10 s of exposure, irrespective of the presence of saliva. In contrast, EOS was generally less effective after 10 s but exhibited near-complete antibacterial activity after 30-60 s, with delayed efficacy in the presence of saliva. During USS procedures, no culturable bacteria were detected in splatter generated with either CHX or EOS. However, compared with saline EOS reduced bacteria-laden droplets/aerosol (CFU/cm2) deposition by 92% vs. 81% with CHX (both, p < 0.001), with no significant difference between the antiseptics (p = 0.607). Both antiseptics effectively reduced bacterial deposition at short range. Nevertheless, only EOS maintained consistent mitigation efficacy over greater distances dominated by aerosol. EOS exhibited minimal cytotoxicity to hGF and moderate effects on hOK, while CHX substantially reduced viability of both cell types. Conclusions: EOS demonstrated rapid contact-bactericidal activity and comparable dental spray deposition reduction to CHX. As a reasonably biocompatible, broad-spectrum agent, EOS may represent a promising coolant candidate for infection prevention control, warranting further clinical evaluation. HOCI chlorhexidine digluconate dental aerosol infection control ultrasonic scaling klorheksidin diglukonat zobozdravstveni aerosol nadzor nad okužbami ultrazvočno odstranjevanje zobnega kamna true false false Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2026-10-16 08:45:21 2026-10-16 08:45:31 2026-10-17 04:16:16 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 10 str. art. 1961598 Vol. 7 Sep. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-09-01 616.31 2673-4842 10.3389/froh.2026.1961598 294787075 RAZ_Munjakovic_Haris_2026.pdf RAZ_Munjakovic_Haris_2026.pdf 1 13B181CCE2ED9A6B6B2EA37A5B07D1E3 9b6060a3df4ba907329cb100aede2a997e91f62252521c79f9e0625b2491cbfd 4645450f-c92d-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=250625 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oral-health/articles/10.3389/froh.2026.1961598/full 1 0463771c-c92d-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=250624 Medicinska fakulteta 0 0 0