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Chapter-33 Occupational Hazards in Dentistry

BOOK TITLE: Fundamentals of Oral Medicine and Radiology

Author
1. DN Bailoor
2. KS Nagesh
ISBN
9788180615146
DOI
10.5005/jp/books/10318_33
Edition
1/e
Publishing Year
2005
Pages
12
Author Affiliations
1. Yenepoya Dental College and Hospital, Mangalore
2. RV Dental College, Jayanagar, Bangalore
Chapter keywords

Abstract

The study of occupational medicine is a highly specialized branch, which deals with risk of particular vocations. Dentistry is peculiar among the various health occupations, in that it makes both artistic and scientific demands on the practitioner. The dentist comes in close contact with patients for long time thus falling prey to infections. Technical advances make new dangers like radiation risk, electric shocks, hearing impairment and eye problems due to lasers, a reality. The author summarize that this knowledge of occupational hazards will help the practicing dentist by helping him to prevent these risks, and as the old adage goes “Prevention is better than cure”. In occupational medicine these risks can be reduced by: (i) Primary prevention, i.e. making the newly trained doctors aware of these problems and promoting ergonomically designed dental clinics. (ii) Secondary prevention involves regular screening of professionals for early evidence of occupational diseases. Local dental associations or government liasoning bodies like State Dental Councils can do this work. (iii) Tertiary prevention techniques are those that utilize regular screening for the practitioners who have developed some of the above-mentioned problems and then take corrective action and suggest life style modifications.

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