The prevalence of occupational health-related conditions among oral health practitioners in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health practitioners may be affected by occupational health-related conditions associated with their work environment. There is a lack of relevant data on the prevalence of these conditions among dentists, dental therapists and oral hygienists in KwaZulu-Natal. Aim: To describe the burden of occupational health-related conditions among oral health practitioners in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa. Methods: This cross sectional study evaluated data obtained through a self-administered questionnaire that sought information on demographics, occupational health, psychosocial risk factors, work tasks and planning. Data was exported from QuestionPro and analysed in SPSS version 24. Frequencies and means with standard deviations were calculated for categorical and continuous variables respectively. Results: Oral hygienists most frequently reported symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders affecting the neck (70%) and the hand (56.5%). Dentists reported the highest prevalence of shoulder pain (55.8%) and of percutaneous injuries (42,3%). The dentists, dental therapists and oral hygienists also reported latex allergy (10.4%) and percutaneous injuries (32.6%). Conclusion: The prevalence of occupational health-related conditions reported by the oral health care workers