Clean Air at Spaulding Dentistry
At Spaulding Dentistry, we’ve implemented a suite of sanitation measures to ensure our patients are protected from health risks. One important measure is our hospital-grade HEPA air filtration system. HEPA filters trap potentially hazardous particles in the air, including allergens, bacteria, and viral matter that could otherwise lead to illness.
Our filtration system, along with our complete range of other infection control measures, allow patients to receive the important dental care they need without unnecessary risks. Visit us today for treatment that accounts for your whole-body health and wellness.
What Is a HEPA filter?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Air Particulate, which is an efficiency standard for air filters that reliably remove airborne contaminants. The filters themselves are a mat of randomly arranged glass fibers. The fiberglass caliber is 0.5~2.0 micron and its high level of filtration efficiency for the smallest as well as the largest particulate contaminants can stop virus and germs ≥0.3μm with 99.995% efficiency.
The HEPA filter was developed during the period of the Manhattan Project that belongs to the US Nuclear Weapons Development, and it was used to capture extreme and dangerous radioactive particles. Nowadays, after scientists recognized its high efficiency for capturing droplets, aerosols, and the particles of bacteria & viruses, the HEPA filter sees widespread use in the medical industry at large.
Will the smallest viruses pass through the HEPA filter?
The 0.3 micron benchmark is used in efficiency ratings because it approximates the most difficult particle size for a filter to capture. HEPA filters are even more efficient in removing particles that are smaller than 0.3 microns and larger than 0.3 microns. The fact that a HEPA filter’s removal efficiency increases as particle size decreases below 0.3 microns can seem counterintuitive. However, this is a proven and accepted fact in the filtration sciences.
The virus sizes are within 0.02um~0.3um. The corona virus size is 0.15um around. Both of them are captured by the HEPA filter through the diffuse and static effect.
Enlarge 1500 times to inspect the particles captured by the HEPA filter.