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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on February 17, 2009
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp004
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Self-reported occupational health of general dental practitioners

K. M. S. Ayers1, W. M. Thomson1, J. T. Newton2, K. C. Morgaine1 and A. M. Rich1

1 Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
2 Oral Health Services Research & Dental Public Health, King's College London School of Dentistry, King's College, London, UK

Background Limited information is available regarding the occupational health status of dentists (particularly in New Zealand), although previous research suggests that stress, hand dermatoses and musculoskeletal symptoms are common.

Aim To determine the occupational health status of New Zealand dentists.

Methods A nationwide postal survey of a representative sample of 750 dentists.

Results There was a response rate of 77%. Most dentists (71%) reported their general health as very good or excellent; 43% rated their physical fitness as excellent or very good and 64% were happy and interested in life. Workplace bullying had been experienced by 19% and was higher for female and employee dentists and 29% had experienced a violent or abusive incident at work. Almost half of the sample (47%) had experienced at least one dermatitis-type condition in the previous 12 months. The most commonly reported sites for musculoskeletal problems experienced in the previous year were the neck (59%), lower back (57%) and shoulders (45%). Women had a higher prevalence of several occupational health problems, but were more satisfied with their overall health than male dentists.

Conclusions The majority of dentists had good general health, but physical fitness levels were not ideal. The prevalence of hand dermatoses and musculoskeletal problems are high and impact significantly on dentists’ daily lives. Interventions such as reducing weight and training in optimal working methods to reduce musculoskeletal problems and injuries (such as eye or needlestick incidents) might improve the health of this workforce but further research is required.

Keywords      Dentist; dermatoses; gender; musculoskeletal; obesity; occupational health

Correspondence to: K. M. S. Ayers, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, PO Box 647, Dunedin, New Zealand. Tel: +64 3 4797116; fax: +64 3 4797113; e-mail: katie.ayers{at}mac.com


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