title: Pregnancy outcome in women working as dentists, dental assistants or dental technicians.
abstract: Pregnancy outcome in women with work in dentistry was studied using various central health registries. A total of 8157 infants born of dentists, dental assistants, or dental technicians in 1976 or 1982-1986 in Sweden were studied with respect to perinatal survival, low birthweight, and malformations and compared with all births. The only deviating finding was that of a significantly low perinatal death rate. Specifically, no increase in a risk for spina bifida was seen and the upper 95% confidence limit for the risk ratio was 2.1. A study was also made of hospitalized spontaneous abortions in women with these occupations in the years 1980-1981. No significant deviations from expected values were found. In a small study of only 78 such pregnancies in 1964-1965, no increase in spontaneous abortion rate was seen. Only one infant was malformed (anencephaly): both its parents worked as dental technicians. None of the mothers of 220 infants with a neural tube defect born in 1965-1967 in Sweden was a dentist. We find no indications that this occupation represents a significant reproduction hazard at the present time in Sweden.
authors.affiliation: National Board of Health and Social Welfare, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ericson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Källén
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D003726:Dental Assistants; D003800:Dental Technicians; D003815:Dentists; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury