Be smart. Wear a mask.
Help us provide masks to those in need, so we can all be safe in our fight against COVID-19!
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Our Story
As our city has slowly started to open up again, many of our local business owners are discovering a multitude of challenges as they cautiously navigate this brave new world. Since my father is the owner of a family dental practice, I have been able to see first hand just how drastic a change has occurred in a dental office's day-to-day routine. Due to the increased vigilance required for infection control, it now takes significantly longer to both prepare for and clean up after each patient's appointment. Not only are they seeing less patients per day, but the cost of seeing each patient has skyrocketed with all of the increased personal protective equipment (PPE) and additional infection control precautions. Due to the worldwide shortage of PPE, it is not uncommon to see items with price markups of more than 1000%. This severe inflation of cost coupled with such a limited availability from regular legitimate sources has proved to be quite a challenge to overcome. As I saw the new financial burden that dentists like my father are now held responsible for, I searched for any way that I could contribute to help out. Then I came across a possible alternative to help dentists cope with the severely inflated overhead costs and impossibility of finding N-95 respirators from legitimate sources.
Which mask to use?
Standard N-95 masks have a ≥95% bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE %) and a ≥95% sub-micron particulate filtration efficiency at .3 micron (PFE %). Standard Level 2 and Level 3 face masks have a BFE ≥98% and PFE of ≥98% at 0.1 micron. These filtration capabilities are superior, but they lack the superior seal around the face that N-95 masks are known for. Since standard face masks cost significantly less than N-95 masks and are also more readily available, I set out to try and invent a way to improve the seal to make standard masks more feasibly usable in the dental setting. After researching this, it turned out that someone had beat me to it and had already designed and implemented a great solution!
Mask Fitters! A possible solution!
The innovators over at Bellus3D and Loma Linda University School of Dentistry have collaborated and designed a mask solution that fits over a standard level 2 or level 3 face mask and their research seems to suggest an enhanced peripheral seal around the face when using it.
These mask fitters have undergone review and have been found appropriate for use in a clinical setting by the NIH (National Institute of Health) ! Please follow these links to read more about it...Mask Fitters from the NIH 3D Print Exchange and LLU School of Dentistry and Bellus3D collaborate on mask solutions during COVID-19 .
Of course, it is up to you to decide how you would like to implement these mask fitters in your daily routine. With the simple instructions provided from Bellus3d, we have been able to successfully 3D print these mask fitters for members of the dental community already!
Our Mission
The ultimate goal of Project Masks4All is to encourage the proper use of face coverings in our local community to help flatten the curve and fight COVID-19 in our city. Our current focus is with the Bakersfield Homeless Center who has issued a call for help as they are in dire need of face masks to distribute. Hearing their request, we have decided to utilize the donations we receive to provide the Bakersfield Homeless Center with as many masks as we can.
(***Update!!! We have now donated over 500 cloth face masks to the Bakersfield Homeless Center already!)
How can you help?
It is our hope that we can help our local dentists and educators and simultaneously help fight COVID-19 locally by encouraging the use of face coverings until a viable vaccine is produced. Of course, donations of non-medical face masks or funding to purchase masks is absolutely welcomed as well! Please email us at info@projectmasks4all.com if you are a dental professional or qualified educator and would like to set up a quick 5 minute face scan or if you are able to help us out with a donation or actual masks (Cloth masks are preferred, but any masks will help!). If you have a 3D printer and are interested in helping us with fabrication of these mask fitters, your help would be greatly appreciated! Once phase 2 of Project Masks4All is well underway, we hope to extend our efforts to other members of the community. Please let us know if you have any great ideas. Thank you for your support in helping us bring more masks to our community! Together, we will flatten the curve and one day be done with all of this ridiculousness! Please remember....Be Smart. Wear a mask!
Sincerely,
Phillip Lin
Stockdale High School
Class of 2024