Incidence and Knowledge of Occupational Health Hazards in Prosthodontic Practice at a Tertiary Hospital in Islamabad

Abstract

Aim: To explore various occupational hazards and assess the level of awareness among dental students Methods: Data was prospectively collected from 80 under-graduate and post-graduate students on voluntary basis. A questionnaire pertaining to the occupational hazards was handed over to the subjects and their responses were then tabulated for statistical analysis. The study design was descriptive cross sectional. Results: Among 80 participants, chemical burns was reported by 18(22.5%), thermal burns via hot instrument by 72(90%), injuries from spirit lamp by 64(80%) , needle prick injury by 37(46.3%), injuries from sharp instruments by 74(92.5%), injuries from micro-motor by 48(60%), allergic dermatitis by 25(31.3%), hot material injury by 63(78.8%) and eye irritation by 31(38.8%). While performing daily procedures and handling patients, 100% wore gloves, 95% of the participants wore masks, 32% used protective eye wear, 97.5% followed safety protocols and 92.5% washed their hands post-operatively. Adequate knowledge regarding occupational safety was reported by 100% of participants. The source of knowledge was found to be electronic media among 50% participants, social media among 27.5% participants and social media among the remaining 22.5%. Alarmingly, only 7.5% participants had received training regarding occupational safety. 48.8% followed occupational safety protocols and 93.8% were aware of the system that existed in case of any accidents happened. Conclusion: The findings of this study are consistent with the previous studies indicating a high risk of occupational health hazards in dentistry. Keywords: Occupational accidents, Prosthodontics, Allergic dermatitis