ubjective evaluation of noise generated in a dental environment and comparison of sound insulation effects of noise cancelling earphones

Lee, Minah; Kim, Ik-Hwan; Lee, Taeyang; Park, Wonse; Song, Je Seon

doi:2022.60.12.787

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 60(12); 2022 > Article

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2022;60(12):787-803.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22974/jkda.2022.60.12.002 Published online November 30, 2022.

치과 의료 환경에서 발생하는 소음에 대한 주관적 평가 및 노이즈 캔슬링 이어폰의 차음 효과 비교

이민아¹

^¹연세대학교 치과대학 소아치과학교실
^²연세대학교 치과대학병원 소아치과
^³연세대학교 치과대학 통합치의학과

ubjective evaluation of noise generated in a dental environment and comparison of sound insulation effects of noise cancelling earphones

Minah Lee¹

¹Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University
²Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Yonsei University Dental Hospital, Seoul, Korea
³Department of Advanced General Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University

Correspondence: Je Seon Song, Tel: +82-2-2228-3176, Fax: +82-2-392-7420,
Email: songjs@yuhs.ac

Received: 18 August 2022 • Revised: 26 August 2022 • Accepted: 17 October 2022

Abstract

Purpose
Various devices such as dental handpieces, ultrasonic scalers, and aspirators exist in the dental clinic, and they generate noise with high decibel levels in a complex way. Through this study, we survey the discomfort and hearing changes on patients and dental staff, and compare and analyze the sound insulation effect of each noise cancelling product for vari-ous noises.
Materials and Methods
This study is a multi-faceted evaluation of noise generated in the dental treatment. First, patients and dental staffs were surveyed through the Gallup Korea Research Institute. Afterwards, subjective evaluations of various noise cancelling earphones for dental noises were conducted by VAS scales.
Results
In this study, more than 50% of patients, dentists, and dental hygienists feel uncomfortable about dental noise, and more than 70% of the respondents say that they had interrupted in communication due to noise. In both the dentist and non-dentist groups, when noise-cancelling earphones were used for high-speed and low-speed handpieces and suction noise, a decrease in VAS value was confirmed. Regarding the scaler noise, the increase or decrease of the VAS value was different depending on the products.
Conclusion
The results of this study indicate that noise generated in a dental treatment can cause emotional discomfort to both patients and dental staff, and both are aware of the possibility of hearing impairment. And it is necessary to consider the sound isolation device optimized for each noise.

Key Words: Dental noise; survey; VAS; noise reduction; noise cancelling earphone