Occupational hazards among dental hygienists: Risk level assessment of scaling work.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to classify occupational hazards of ultrasonic scaling by factor and to identify the distribution of occupational risk levels of the study participants according to occupational hazards. In addition, the relationship between the general characteristics of dental hygienists and the occupational risk level of scaling was investigated. METHODS: This study was conducted on 237 dental hygienists. Exposure frequency and the degree of work loss were investigated on a five-point scale for each of the 15 occupational hazards of scaling. RESULTS: Among occupational hazards, the proportion of high-risk individuals for biological hazards (32.9%) was the highest. Dental clinics (33.6%) were found to have a higher proportion of high-risk individuals than dental hospitals (16.5%) (p < 0.05). The proportion of high-risk individuals was higher in the absence of an infection control coordinator (33.9%) (p < 0.05) and infection control education in the preceding 2 years (28.6%) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: To create a safe dental work environment, appropriate measures according to the risk level and measurement of occupational risk should be discussed.

Inter-rater agreement among multiple examiners for the assessment of plaque scores between quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital and two-tone disclosing solution-stained digital images.

BACKGROUND: To utilize plaque scoring indices as objective measures, a certain standard of intra-rater and inter-rater agreement must be met. Achievement of high consistency among several examiners in the assessment of images from Q-ray cam (for quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital imaging) and digital single-lens reflex camera of stained tooth surfaces might enable more efficient undertaking of large epidemiological studies and oral tests. METHODS: Second-year dental hygiene students and registered dental hygienists 40 examiners were randomly selected, all of whom provided informed consent. Multiple examiners assessed plaque scoring indices from the two types of images of the same 30 patients. The images were observed on a computer monitor, and the area with dental plaque was assessed using the Patient Hygiene Performance Index. The intra-class correlation coefficient was determined to evaluate the agreement among examiners and test methods for dental plaque Q-ray cam and digital single-lens reflex camera measurements were compared using a Bland-Altman plot. The intra-class correlation coefficient was analyzed using SPSS version 24 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and the exploratory graph was analyzed with MedCalc. RESULTS: Agreement among 40 examiners was excellent with an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.990 when the Q-ray cam was used. The intra-class correlation coefficient for the registered dental hygienists group was 0.987 and that for the dental hygiene students group was 0.980. CONCLUSIONS: The study was high agreement in the assessment of Q-ray cam images and digital single-lens reflex camera images of stained dental plaque by multiple examiners, confirming that the two methods are validated both independently and with high mutual agreement.

Approach of industrial physical therapy to assessment of the musculoskeletal system and ergonomic risk factors of the dental hygienist.

This study aimed to provide fundamental data to be utilized in preventing and treating musculoskeletal disorders and analyzing working postures commonly used during periodontal treatment. [Subjects] The subjects were three dental hygienists with work experience in dental clinics for more than 10 years. [Methods] For the analysis of working postures, we simulated the work posture of dental hygienists during the scaling procedures and oral radiographic imaging tasks. The subjects were recorded on video to precisely observe them while they were working. The captured working postures were assessed and analyzed using ergonomic assessment methods, the Rapid Entire Body Assessment, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, and Strain index. [Results] No differences were exhibited in the intensities of manual scaling and ultrasonic scaling. Commonly, the shoulders and waist were found to be the most overburdened. According to the strain index, manual scaling and ultrasonic scaling working postures were identified to be most dangerous. [Conclusion] The work postures of dental hygienists during scaling are postures that are highly likely to generate work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, the development of therapeutic exercise programs easily performable in the workplace and daily life is thought to be crucial to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Validation of a Korean version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) among 8- to 15-year-old school children.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) Korean version in a representative community sample of 8- to 15-year-old Korean children. METHODS: A Korean version of COHIP was developed according to the standard procedure of cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported instruments. A representative community sample of 2236 schoolchildren was selected by cluster sampling method. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 11.8 years. Mean and median of the overall COHIP score were 103.3 (SD 13.3) and 106, respectively. Internal reliability and retest reliability were excellent with Chronbach's alpha 0.88 and intraclass correlation coefficient 0.88. Face validity was confirmed with 98% of participants reporting the COHIP questionnaire was easy to answer. Nonclinical factors such as self-rated oral health or satisfaction with oral health were significantly related with overall COHIP score and five subscale scores (P < 0.001) in a consistent manner. Children with carious permanent teeth and with orthodontic treatment need had highly significantly lower overall COHIP score (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the COHIP was successfully developed. The internal reliability, retest reliability, face validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the COHIP Korean version were confirmed.

Fluoride ingestion is related to fluid consumption patterns.

OBJECTIVES: There have been few reports regarding variations of fluoride intake by fluid consumption patterns. The purpose of this study was to estimate fluoride intake among children in the United States based on their fluid consumption patterns. METHODS: Fluid intakes of children aged 1-10 years from plain water, beverages, and water from foods were assessed in a 24-hour recall diet survey as a part of the third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994). The amount of fluoride ingested from fluids in NHANES III was estimated from several assumptions about the concentration of fluoride in drinking water and beverages. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using SAS and SUDAAN. RESULTS: Children at the 75th percentile or higher of F intake from fluids (not including water used in cooking) ingested 0.05 mg F/kg/day or more, and children at the 90th percentile or higher ingested 0.07 mg F/kg/day or more. This finding held across all age groups. There was substantial variation in the estimated amount of fluoride ingestion depending on the children's fluid consumption patterns as well as age, gender, and race/ethnicity. African-American children ingested significantly more fluoride than White children in bivariate analysis. This association remained significant after accounting for fluid consumption pattern and other confounding factors in the model. CONCLUSION: Our results raise concerns that some children are ingesting significantly more fluoride than others depending on sociodemographic factors and fluid consumption patterns. Additional research is warranted to investigate the variation in the amounts of fluoride ingestion by these factors and its impact on fluorosis prevalence in different population groups.