Again, consult with an architect or engineers to help you assess the viability and or options, if an NAPR is to be part of your infection control strategy. Depending on the width of the treatment room and the 12 o’clock cabinet width, the physical width of the treatment room may not allow the retrofitting without enlarging the room width to 9’-0” to 10’8”+/- including a 3’-0” wide 12 o’clock cabinet and type of door hardware use. Adding doors to the door opening may trigger the ADA compliance requirements. Can You Close Off Treatment Rooms in Your Office?Ĭlosing off the Treatment Rooms by adding doors to the existing doorways is one of the prerequisites of retrofitting an existing treatment room into an NAPR. Lastly, the mechanical system can be reworked so that potential contaminated air within the room is not recirculated back into the system but exhausted out of the room instead. Yes, if the existing perimeter walls of the room can be extended to the roof structure above, doors can be added to enclose the current open doorways and meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards and Requirements. Due to operational, functional, and economical factors, NAPR are limited to a few dedicated rooms within the Healthcare facilities and not an entire wing or building specifically for dental offices, NAPR rooms would be specific to one or all treatment rooms, as preferred by the dentist owner. The three key components that will dictate whether the individual space is viable to be retrofitted into an NAPR are: Wall assembly, mechanical system design, and doors. The answer is not so simple and should be assessed by an architect or engineers to determine all building components and systems affected or involved with retrofitting the existing room into a negative air pressure room.

Can an Existing Room/Space be Converted to NAPR? Negative Pressure spaces, as to date, are not mandated for dental offices either by building codes or agencies with jurisdictional authority however, ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) do recommend Negative Pressure for spaces with infectious aerosol concerns. The purpose of an NAPR is to isolate and prevent airborne pathogens from escaping the room and potentially spreading the pathogens to the surrounding areas and/or the entire building and infecting the occupants.

NAPR are rooms designed for isolation of airborne infectious pathogens, where the air pressure inside the room is lower than the surrounding adjacent rooms/ spaces. We talked about this subject on our weekly radio show, and you can listen to it here. One way to try and control the spread of potentially infectious pathogens is by the use of Negative Air Pressure Rooms or NAPR. Single pass air-conditioning system and separate AHU Įxhaust system with top–tiered High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter (99.999%) Įxhausted air from patient rooms will be passed through HEPA filtration and Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation before being exhausted out.What are Negative Air Pressure Rooms (NAPR) and Do You Need Them in Your Dental Office?Ĭontrolling and managing aerosol with potential infectious pathogens generated during dental procedures in dental offices is a serious health concern to both patients and staff, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Separate air handling unit (AHU) supplying clean air to different zones The general design principles for the NEP room focuses on safety with the following key features:Ī) Clear segregation of flows for patient, public, staff, clean and dirty materials The purpose of the anteroom is to provide:Ĭontrol of the entry and exit of contaminated air when the anteroom door is opened Ī barrier against the potential loss of pressurisation Ī controlled area where PPE can be donned prior to entry into the isolated contamination area. The NEP room has a pressure gauge and alarm system to advise staff when pressurisation is not achieved. When the door from the corridor is opened, air flows from the corridor into the anteroom. Similarly, the anteroom is negatively pressured in relation to the corridor. The flow of air from the anteroom into the patient's room prevents outflow of infectious agents from the patient's room. When the door to the room is open, air from the anteroom is drawn into the patient's room. This prevents the contamination and potential transmission of infectious diseases to other areas of the hospital. The patient room is negatively pressured in relation to the anteroom and the corridor. The Negative Pressure (NEP) room is a negative pressured isolation room with additional barriers such as an anteroom and a self-closing inter-locking door.

Negative pressure room