Occupational safety among dental health-care workers

Figures & data

Table 1 Contents of occupational injuries

	Number (%)
Sharp instrument injury	23 (71.9)
Splash exposure	6 (18.8)
Contact exposure	2 (6.3)
Bite injurya	1 (3.1)
Total	32 (100)

Note:

a Bite injury was caused by a patient with a severe developmental disability.

Table 2 Title of injured worker

	Number (%)
Dental hygienist	14 (43.8)
Dentist	9 (28.1)
Dental student	5 (15.6)
Nurse	3 (9.4)
CSSD staff	1 (3.1)
Total	32 (100)

Abbreviation: CSSD, central sterilization supply department.

Table 3 Prevalence of occupational injury

	Sharp injury	Splash exposure
Dentist	51.7% (30/58)	88.0% (51/58)
Dental hygienist	59.1% (26/44)	88.6% (39/44)
Nurse	61.1% (11/18)	42.9% (6/14)
χ^2 test	n.s.	P < 0.01

Abbreviations: n.s., not significant; P, probability value.

Figure 1 Typical sharp instruments. A) Stainless steel wires (0.4 mm in diameter). B) Dental turbine hand piece with diamond bur. C) File. D) Ultrasonic hand scalar with scalar tip. E) Explorer. F) Dental forceps.

Table 4 Questionnaire regarding motivation for wearing protective eyewear and the answers

	Number	%
#1. Splatters from the patients’ mouth contain blood.	99	90
#2. Three splatter exposures pose an infection risk equivalent to one needle stick injury.	64	58.2
#3. The distance between the dentist and the patient is much closer than that between the physician and the patient; therefore, dentists face a greater risk for tuberculosis than physicians.	55	50
#4. Four persons are newly infected by HIV every day in Japan.	50	45.5
#5. Dental operations at our clinic are performed based only on a questionnaire without serious examinations for HBV, HCV, and HIV.	79	71.8
#6. If the hospital’s reputation would be raised by using PPE, I would definitely use PPE.	17	15.5
#7. If my personal reputation as a good dentist would be raised in the hospital by using PPE, I would definitely use PPE.	12	10.9
#8. If my personal reputation as a good dentist would be raised in patients’ eyes by using PPE, I would definitely use PPE.	13	11.8
#9. If additional reimbursement would be obtained by using PPE, I would definitely use PPE.	9	8.2
#10. If the goggle or face shield would not fog up during use, I would definitely use PPE.	32	29.1
#11. If the treatment time of each patient would have a satisfactory length, I would definitely use PPE.	16	14.5
#12. Most splatters are not recognized by the surgeon intraoperatively.	73	66.4
#13. Complete information about the use of PPE is provided to undergraduate students.	29	26.4
#14. There are some still unknown microbes; 70 years passed before HIV was identified.	59	53.6

Note: Please check important information or assumptions related to your motivation for wearing protective eyewear.

Abbreviations: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; PPE, personal protective equipment.

Table 5 Rate of agreement with the information or assumption that most strongly persuade one to use protective eyewear

	Thirty-one dentists with eyewear	Thirty-six dentists without eyewear	Eighteen dental hygienists with eyewear	Twenty dental hygienists without eyewear
#1	28 (90.3%)	29 (80.6%)	18 (100%)	20 (100%)
#2	13 (41.9%)	21 (58.3%)	12 (66.7%)	18 (90%)
#3	15 (48.4%)	14 (38.9%)	13 (72.2%)	10 (50%)
#4	13 (41.9%)	16 (44.4%)	12 (66.7%)	9 (45%)
#5	26 (83.9%)	18 (50%)	15 (83.3%)	16 (80%)
#6	3 (9.7%)	6 (16.7%)	3 (16.7%)	3 (15%)
#7	2 (6.5%)	5 (13.9%)	3 (16.7%)	2 (10%)
#8	2 (6.5%)	5 (13.9%)	3 (16.7%)	3 (15%)
#9	1 (3.2%)	4 (11.1%)	2 (11.1%)	2 (10%)
#10	10 (32.3%)	13 (36.1%)	5 (27.8%)	4 (20%)
#11	5 (16.1%)	4 (11.1%)	3 (16.7%)	4 (20%)
#12	24 (77.4%)	17 (47.2%)	16 (88.9%)	13 (65%)
#13	7 (22.6%)	8 (22.2%)	9 (50%)	5 (25%)
#14	14 (45.2%)	20 (55.6%)	10 (55.6%)	12 (60%)

Notes: Bold show a significant difference between dentists with and without routine protective eyewear (P value <0.01 and <0.05 in #5 and #12, respectively, χ2 test).

Figure 2 Examples of injured cases. A) Sharp instrument (a file) injury after treatment. The tip of a file is protruding from the instrument stand (red circle). B) Unexpected injury could occur during and after treatment. Left bur or scalar tip with hand pieces has a potential risk for injury.