Abstract: PURPOSE: To measure the particle size of surgical smoke produced by high frequency electrotome during prosthetic treatment. METHODS: The smoking machine was turned on when using high frequency electrotome simultaneously. Changes in the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration were measured by air quality detector. The sponge filter used in the smoking machine for 2 weeks was used as the experimental group with the intact one served as the control. The diameter and distribution of the smoke particles were observed under electric microscope scanning (SEM), and the difference between 2 groups was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 software package. RESULTS: Both PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations increased dramatically by the surgical smoke. SEM results demonstrated that the mean diameter of smoke particles was approximately 3.3 μm and most of them were smaller than 10 μm. CONCLUSIONS: The diameter of surgical smoke particles was similar to PM2.5 size, which is harmful to human health. Address of individual awareness and enhancing safety control are recommended.

Key words: High frequency electrotome, Surgical smoke, Particle size, PM2.5, PM10