Occurrence of periodontal pockets and oral soft tissue lesions in relation to sulfuric acid fumes in the working environment

Abstract

The effect of inorganic acid fumes from the working environment on the occurrence of periodontal pockets and soft oral tissues was investigated in a cross-sectional, blind study. A sample of 186 workers was drawn from 4 factories. Of the 170 participants, 82 were working in departments containing acid fumes, and 88 controls had never worked under such conditions. Of the workers exposed to acid fumes 36.9% and of the controls 30.9% had periodontal pockets. The presence of periodontal pockets increased with age significantly more among the acid-exposed workers than among the controls (p < 0.0001). Oral mucous membrane lesions were observed among 23.2% of the acid-exposed workers and 21.6% of the controls. The findings suggest that acid fumes in the workplace air do not increase the occurrence of oral mucous lesions but may lead to an increase in the prevalance of periodontal pockets.

Key Words:

• Inorganic acid fumes
• oral mucous membrane lesions
• periodontology
• subjective oral symptoms