The Dentec Comfort Air Nx is a reusable elastomeric respirator without an exhalation valve. The product comes in two forms - the Comfort Air Nx, designed for general purpose usage, and the Comfort Air NxMD, designed for usage in healthcare settings. The Comfort Air Nx is one of the first NIOSH-approved respirators without an exhalation valve.
The Comfort Air Nx model has a black facepiece and black N95 cartridges, while the NxMD model is white and has white N95 cartridges. Both models come in small/medium and medium/large sizes (see sizing information). Each model is available in an N95 cartridge and P100 cartridge form, and each of these configurations have been NIOSH-approved (approval # 9355, 9356).
The Dentec Comfort Air Nx is is variation of Dentec's Comfort Air 400 (valved) series. In addition to the exhalation valve-free facepiece, the Comfort Air Nx (95 cartridge version) features N95 cartridges that were designed to decrease breathing resistance, increase audibility of the wearer, and make a user seal check — in lieu of exhalation valve — easier. The N95 cartridges have a dome-like design and have a smaller area to seal (during seal check) versus their N95 cartridges for their valved respirators.
External links
- Official Dentec website for the Dentec Comfort Air NxMD (white, more for healthcare settings) and Comfort Air Nx (black, more for general purpose settings).
- A video outlining some of the features of the Dentec Comfort Air Nx series.
- A video demonstrating the Comfort Air NxMD and other respirators. Features a video of the Comfort Air Nx being worn while talking (at 10:43).
- "Advancements in Elastomeric Respirator Technology for Use as Source Control" - post on the NIOSH science blog about the approval of new exhalation-valve free elastomeric respirators such as the Dentec Comfort Air Nx (March 2021)
