The suction housing is a device essential in dentistry; it allows the patient’s airway to be maintained despite the large amounts of debris and secretions that can be generated in the oral cavity during treatment. During operation, suction housings often generate 70 dB(A) of noise, and can generate 80 dB(A) or higher in some cases. This noise is a source of stress for dentists and hygienists, and can make patients fearful and anxious. For these reasons, dentists as consumers are increasingly demanding improvements to the suction housing in terms of reducing noise. A number of studies
have been conducted since the 1930s regarding the aerodynamic noise caused by the impeller in the suction housing, including studies by Madison and Deming ; most such studies since the 1990s have used computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
because of computational advances in this area.