RESUMO
The effect of inorganic and organic acid fumes on teeth was explored in a cross-sectional study using blind dental examinations. A sample of 180 workers from two factories was randomly drawn. Among the 169 workers who participated in the survey, 88 were exposed to acid fumes and 81 were controls. The percentage of inorganic acid workers with tooth surface loss was 63.2%, while that for the controls was 37.7% (P less than 0.005). The corresponding figures in the organic acid company were 50.0% and 14.3% (P less than 0.02). In both companies the acid workers had significantly more often teeth with surface loss in the maxilla than their controls (P less than 0.02). Both anteriors and posteriors were affected. On the basis of the findings. it can be concluded that acid fumes at work are strongly associated with tooth surface loss.
Assuntos
Poluentes Ocupacionais do Ar/efeitos adversos , Doenças Profissionais/epidemiologia , Ácidos Sulfônicos/efeitos adversos , Ácidos Sulfúricos/efeitos adversos , Erosão Dentária/epidemiologia , Adulto , Indústria Química , Estudos Transversais , Cárie Dentária/epidemiologia , Feminino , Fertilizantes , Humanos , Arcada Parcialmente Edêntula/epidemiologia , Masculino , Doenças Profissionais/induzido quimicamente , Exposição Ocupacional , Prevalência , Método Simples-Cego , Tanzânia/epidemiologia , Fatores de Tempo , Erosão Dentária/induzido quimicamenteRESUMO
The purpose of the present study was to describe the production of Dental Therapists and Assistant Dental Officers trained in Ministry of Health institutions in Tanzania during more that ten years of support from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) through the Tanzania-Danida Dental Health Programme and to investigate their distribution and location. A total of 169 Dental Therapists and 38 Assistant Dental Officers have been trained from 1981 to 1993, representing more than 70% of the training capacity of the schools for training of oral health personnel under Ministry of Health. The distribution of both Dental Therapists and Assistant Dental Officers according to working station was, however very similar to that found before the Danida support began. Two out of every three Dental Therapists in government service were stationed in district clinics or non-government clinics at the district level. The same was true for one out of every three Assistant Dental Officers. It is concluded, that the intentions laid down in Tanzania's National Plan for Oral Health 1988-2002 of first staffing the district hospitals and, later on, the health centres with Dental Therapists have not yet been fulfilled.