Traumatic dental injuries due to occupational safety accidents of adult workers in Korea: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to determine the incidence of traumatic dental injuries due to safety accidents in the workplace among Koreans using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) database of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Methods Data from KNHANES VII and VIII conducted between 2016 and 2020 were analyzed. Of the 39,738 participants of KNHANES VII and VIII, 16,588 adults between the ages of 19–54 years who completed the questionnaire on whether they experienced traumatic dental injury due to a safety accident were included. Data on the characteristics of occupational classification according to demographic characteristics and of the traumatic dental injury due to safety-related accidents. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the incidence of traumatic dental injuries caused by accidents according to demographic characteristics and occupational classification. The analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and related covariates. Results Of the 16,588 participants included in the analysis, 13% experienced traumatic dental injuries and 7.3% experienced traumatic dental injuries due to accidents at work. Traumatic dental injuries were significantly higher among workers involved in manual labor. Education level had the most significant impact on the association between occupational class and incidence of traumatic dental injury at work. Among manual workers, the difference in incidence of traumatic dental injuries at work between those employed in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and those employed in industrial plants, machine operation, and assembly was also largely influenced by the participant’s level of education. Conclusion The results of this study show that manual workers have higher incidence of traumatic dental injury due to workplace accidents than non-manual workers, and that their level of education greatly impacts this association.