Occupational hazards in dentistry- BIRDEM

Occupational hazards in dentistry

1. Dr. Rufaida Rahman Dr. Rufaida Rahman

2. Presented By Presented By
  
Dr. Rufaida Rahman
Intern Doctor, Dental Unit
BIRDEM General Hospital

4. WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS IN WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS IN
DENTISTRY ? DENTISTRY ?
Dental care has been revolutionized due to
information explosion and technological
advances.
As a result of these advances, quality care can be
provided to the population.
But while doing so, dentists and their teams are
exposed to a number of hazards peculiar to this
profession.

5. WHO IS AT RISK?WHO IS AT RISK?
 The dentist.
 Auxiliary dental workers (For example: nurses,
therapists, hygienists, technicians).
 Others at the place of work (for example
service/ maintenance personnel).

6. OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS IN DENTISTRY OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS IN DENTISTRY
CAN BE GROUPED INTOCAN BE GROUPED INTO
1. Physical
2. Chemical
3. Biological
4. Mechanical
5. Psychosocial

7. PHYSICAL HAZARDSPHYSICAL HAZARDS
 Due to the lack of maintenance to any electrical equipment and its
controls can cause painful shocks, burns etc.
 On the other hand eye pain, eye strain, headache, eye fatigue can be
happened due to poor illumination or excessive brightness.
 Sources of noise can be the reason of hearing loss to both dentist and
the patient.
High Speed Turbine Machine Dental Air CompressorsDental Ultrasonic Scaler

8. PHYSICAL HAZARDS PHYSICAL HAZARDS
Radiographs play an important role in diagnosis of caries,
endodontic problem or to see any old restoration and treatment
planning. It also have some hazards such as erythema, dermatitis,
skin cancer and bone marrow suppression.
 Radiographs

9. Protection from radiation hazards Protection from radiation hazards
PHYSICAL HAZARDS PHYSICAL HAZARDS
 Radiographs
 Position yourself behind a shield.
 Use thyroid collar and lead apron.
 Use of aluminum filters.
 Use digital radiographic techniques.
 Use electronic apex locator in endodontic treatment.
Dental Lead Apron
Thyroid Shield Collar
Electronic Apex Locator

10. Uses of Laser in Dentistry can cause:
 Eye damage.
 Skin damage.
 Fire.
 Smoke inhalation (cellular and viral debris).
PHYSICAL HAZARDSPHYSICAL HAZARDS
 Laser Laser

11. Curing light (LED-Blue light)
Curing light has become an integral
part of the daily practice of
restorative dentistry. Form an
occupational safety perspective,
the blue light used to cure
composite is not well tolerated by
the human eye.
PHYSICAL HAZARDSPHYSICAL HAZARDS
Dental Curing Light

12. Minimize the risk of LED (Blue light) exposure
 Engineering controls:
Good workplace design (covering curing site)
Blue light filters
 Administrative controls:
Staff training.
Equipment maintenance as per manufacturer’s Guidelines.
Restricted work area.
 Protective equipment controls:
Eye protector
PHYSICAL HAZARDSPHYSICAL HAZARDS

13. CHEMICAL HAZARDSCHEMICAL HAZARDS
Dentists are exposed to various types of chemicals that can
be the reason of hazards while providing care. They include:
 Mercury.
 Latex.
 Formaldehyde.
 Beryllium etc.

14. MercuryMercury
Use of excess mercury can cause
mercury poisoning.
Use of pre-capsulated alloys, maintaining
good ventilation and collecting excess
and spilled mercury in fixer containing
break resistant bottles can minimize the
hazards due to mercury.
Amalgum restoration

15. Latex allergy
Latex gloveLatex glove
Latex gloves
Latex gloves dusted with corn-
starch powder are most often
used.
Unfortunately, most of the
professionals are allergic to this
product.

16. Using non-latex gloves, which are suitable for dental Using non-latex gloves, which are suitable for dental
work can prevent this situation. e.g. vinyl or nitrite work can prevent this situation. e.g. vinyl or nitrite
gloves.gloves.
Fig: Vinyl Gloves Fig: Nitrile gloves

17. FormaldehydeFormaldehyde
Formaldehyde solution
It is widely used in dentistry because of its
antibacterial properties in root canal disinfection.
They may cause severe abdominal pain, nausea,
vomiting. In chronic case it may be the reason of
laryngitis, bronchitis.

18. BIOLOGICAL HAZARDSBIOLOGICAL HAZARDS
The biological hazards are mainly occurred for infectious agents of
human origin which include viruses, bacteria and fungi.
The dentist is prone for these infectious agents either directly or
indirectly.
Transmissible diseases currently of greatest concern to the dental
professional are HIV, HBV, HCV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

19. PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDSPSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS
Stress situation is a part of a dentist's everyday
work. Establishment of good relation with
patient is an important aspect of practice by
which patient compliance can be achieved.
This leads to development of increased
tension, high blood pressure, tiredness,
depression, and sleeplessness.

20. Sufficient rest
Allot time for social interaction and family.
Various courses are currently available to overcome stress-
Yoga, meditation, exercise and art of living etc.
PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDSPSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS
Prevention:

21. MECHANICAL HAZARDMECHANICAL HAZARD
As a dental surgeon we use sharp
instruments. Carelessness while using
sharp instruments can cause traumatic
injuries.
It can be reduced or avoided by being
careful while operating.

22. DISORDERS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL AND DISEASES OF DISORDERS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL AND DISEASES OF
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS)
During the work, the dentist has to take up some of the strained
posture either in standing or sitting close to a patient while
providing care which causes an overstress of the spine and
limbs and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).

23. This results in Low Back Pain syndrome, Neck pain, Cervical
Spondylosis (Dentist's Nightmare) and carpal tunnel syndrome.

24. Low back pain is the most common
musculoskeletal complaint among dentists.
The alternate shifting between sitting and
standing will be beneficial to reduce the
strain on muscles.
Low back pain

 Low back pain

25. RAYNAUD'SRAYNAUD'S PHENOMENONPHENOMENON
Raynaud's phenomenon is an alarming disease for a
dentist.
Using of vibrating instrument is one of the
major
 causes of it.
It’s a problem that causes decreased blood flow to the
fingers.

26. This happens due to
spasms of blood vessels in
those areas.

27. Risks for health due to occupation are
present in every profession. Dentists are
one such professional group.
Identify your occupational risk and take
your precaution according to protocol to
reduce the hazards and improve your
quality of life.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE TAKE HOME MESSAGE

28. REFERENCESREFERENCES
1.Textbook of Public Health Dentistry 3rd Edition by S. S. Hiremath
2.Textbook of Endodontics 4th Edition by Nisha Garg, Amit Garg, Mohammad
Hossein Nekoofar.
3.Guidance on Occupational Hazards in Dentistry (Health and Safety
Authority- HSA)
4.Occupational Hazards In Dentistry (wikipedia.org).