Occupational safety threats among dental personnel and related risk factors.
Occupational diseases are primarily considered to be important health problems for individuals with occupations in heavy industry fields. Although dentists work in very clean and elegant offices, they are frequently exposed to various chemicals and high-intensity, sound-producing instruments, such as compressors and aerators. In our study, we aimed to investigate the risk for occupational hearing loss of dental personnel, by performing pure-tone audiometry in 40 dentists and comparing the results with those of healthy individuals. We also sampled the nasal mucosa to investigate the effects of occupational chemicals on the nasal mucosa of the dentists. The pure-tone audiometric thresholds at 5 different frequencies (1000, 2000, 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz) and working time were evaluated as potential risk factors. The pure-tone audiometric results (as decibels) at each frequency and the median values for each side (right and left ears) were significantly higher for dentists than for the control group (P < 0.05). The pure-tone audiometric results did not significantly differ between the women and men in the study group (P > 0.05). The findings in the nasal mucosa (goblet cell hyperplasia, neutrophil/eosinophil/basophil distribution, metaplasia, dysplasia, premalignant or malignant cells) were similar in the study and control groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, our study indicated that high-intensity, sound-producing equipment is an important occupational threat for dentists, whereas chemical agents have minimal hazardous effects.
From the *Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Osmangazi University, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir; †ENT Clinic, Ministry of Health, Bozyaka Training and Reserch Hospital, Izmir; ‡ENT Clinic, Ministry of Health, Gaziantep Sehit Kamil State Hospital, Gaziantep; and §Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Eskisehir, Turkey.
M Kezban
MK
Gurbuz
Tolgahan
T
Çatli
Cemal
C
Cingi
Aytekin
A
Yaz
Cengiz
C
Bal
D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000379:methods; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001491:Basophils / Q000473:pathology; D003748:Dental Equipment / Q000009:adverse effects; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000009:adverse effects; D003815:Dentists; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020397:Goblet Cells / Q000473:pathology; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D008297:Male; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects; D009668:Nose Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000175:diagnosis; D012307:Risk Factors
D003764:Dental Materials; D008689:Methacrylates