Noise levels in the learning-teaching activities in a dental medicine school

Abstract

The noise levels made by clinical handpieces and laboratory engines are the main descriptors of acoustical comfort in learning spaces in a dental medicine school. Sound levels were measured in five types of classrooms and teaching laboratories at the University of Porto Dental Medicine School. Handpiece noise measurements were made while instruments were running free and during operations with cutting tools (tooth, metal and acrylic). Noise levels were determined using a precision sound level meter, which was positioned at one-meter distance from the main noise source. Some of the handpieces were brand new and the others had a few years of use. The sound levels encountered were between 60 and 99 dB(A) and were compared with identical situations in other countries and with the noise limits in A-weighted sound pressure level for mechanical equipments installed in educational buildings included in several European Noise Codes. The daily personal noise exposure levels (Leq,8) of the students and professors were calculated to be between 85 and 90 dB(A) and were compared with the European legal limits. Some noise limits for this type of environment are proposed and suggestions for the improvement of the acoustical environment are given.