title: Pneumoconiosis and respiratory problems in dental laboratory technicians: analysis of 893 dental technicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the rate of pneumoconiosis in dental technicians (DTP) and to evaluate the risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of 893 dental technicians, who were admitted to our hospital in the period January 2007-May 2012, from 170 dental laboratories were retrospectively examined. Demographic data, respiratory symptoms, smoking status, work duration, working fields, exposure to sandblasting, physical examination findings, chest radiographs, pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography results were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dental technicians' pneumoconiosis rate was 10.1% among 893 cases. The disease was more common among males and in those exposed to sandblasting who had 77-fold higher risk of DTP. The highest profusion subcategory was 3/+ (according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) 2011 standards) and the large opacity rate was 13.3%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge, it was the largest DTP case series (N = 893/90) in the literature in English. Health screenings should be performed regularly for the early diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, which is an important occupational disease for dental technicians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Diseases, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, recaiergun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ergün
authors.forename: Recai
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ergün
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Türkan Nadir
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Oziş
authors.forename: Hinç
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akkurt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003800:Dental Technicians; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011009:Pneumoconiosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials