{"id":4424,"date":"2023-08-02T14:48:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T12:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/?p=4424"},"modified":"2023-08-04T11:30:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T09:30:15","slug":"health-risks-dental-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/hygiene-en\/health-risks-dental-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"The risks associated with jobs in the dental sector and the importance of proper prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A well-known chart in a New York Times<\/em>[1] article published during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic provided a graphical presentation of the risk levels of various professions<\/strong> in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each profession was represented by a bubble whose position indicated the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two positions evaluated the frequency with which workers were exposed to disease and infection (y axis) and the total contact time during work hours (y axis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this chart [1] dental hygienists occupy first place<\/strong>, with a disease exposure and physical vicinity score of 100[1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately behind them come oral and maxillofacial surgeons, with a total risk score of 99[1], followed by dental nurses and dentists, with a total risk score of between 95 and 99[1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Want to find out more?<\/em>
Read the focus article on SARS-CoV-2 and the dental professions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The 6 main risk factors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another article[2], using data from the Occupational Information Network<\/em>, a United States Department of Labor database[3] containing a wealth of detailed information on different occupations, classified the highest risk professions in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All occupations were analysed in terms of their impact on workers’ health, using six major health risks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. exposure to contaminants;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. exposure to disease and infections;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. exposure to hazardous conditions;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. exposure to radiation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. risk of minor burns, cuts, bites and stings;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. time spent sitting (frequent inactivity reduces life expectancy[2]).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    O*NET(3) rated these factors on a 0:100 scale, in which a high score indicates a greater health risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dental professionals top the risk ranking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Of the 37 positions available, medical and dental professions are found within the top ten: prosthodontists occupy seventh place, dental assistants fifth place, dental technicians fourth place, generic dentists second place and in first place we find dental hygienists<\/strong>[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prosthodontists<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Seventh place is occupied by prosthodontists, dentistry graduates whose job is to replace missing teeth with prosthetic devices, and restore masticatory, respiratory, phonatory, muscular and aesthetic function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Their overall health risk score is 63<\/strong>, with an exposure to disease and infections score of 88, an exposure to contaminants score of 74 and a time spent sitting score of 66[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dental assistants<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    In fifth place we find dental assistants, whose job is to assist dentists during treatment, by disinfecting and sterilising the surgical field<\/a> and preparing patients for operating procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Their health risk score is 65.5<\/strong>, with an exposure to disease and infections score of 96, an exposure to radiation score of 85 and an exposure to contaminants score of 78[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dental technicians<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Fourth place is occupied by dental technicians, who are responsible for building or repairing prosthetic devices and orthodontic appliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Their overall health risk score is 65.7<\/strong>, with an exposure to contaminants score of 99, an exposure to disease and infections score of 72 and a time spent sitting score of 85[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dentists<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    In second place we find dentists, who are tasked with examining, diagnosing and treating disorders of the oral cavity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They have an overall risk score of 69.6<\/strong>, an exposure to disease and infections score of 95, an exposure to radiation score of 85 and a time spent sitting score of 82[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dental hygienists<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    First place is occupied by dental hygienists<\/strong>, who prevent or stop acute and chronic oral inflammations using nonsurgical methods, and are also responsible for procedures to prevent oral cavity conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Their overall health risk score is 72.8<\/strong>, with an exposure to disease and infections score of 100, an exposure to radiation score of 91 and an overall time spent sitting score of 85[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The importance of proper prevention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    What we have just described shows that certain professions are at greater risk than others due to the presence of unfavourable factors associated with the work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dental hygienists, like other dentistry professionals, obtained very high scores for exposure to pathogens and radiation and sedentary lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In short, it can be said that compliance with and knowledge of the proper protocols <\/strong>concerning prevention procedures can drastically reduce occupational risks and correct any habits that are potentially harmful for health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [1] https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/03\/15\/business\/economy\/coronavirus-worker-risk.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [2] https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/the-37-jobs-that-are-most-damaging-to-your-health-a7708071.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [3] https:\/\/www.onetcenter.org\/database.html<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A well-known chart in a New York Times[1] article published during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic provided a graphical presentation of the risk levels of various professions in the United States. The risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 Each profession was represented by a bubble whose position indicated the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2.  Two positions evaluated the frequency with which workers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hygiene-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.zhermack.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}