Occupational hazards in prosthodontics amongst Interns

Abstract

Background: To assess the incidence of occupational hazards while working in the department of prosthodontics amongst the interns of Institute of Dental Sciences, Jammu. Materials and methods: A closed ended questionnaire was prepared and circulated amongst 55 interns of Institute of Dental Sciences, Jammu to assess the types of occupational hazards encountered by them while working in prosthodontics. A total of 40 out of 55 interns completed the questionnaire and the response rate was 72.7%. Results: Most common occupational hazard in prosthodontics was of psychological stress (90%). The other most common hazards were injury from sharps like blades and knives (77.5%), burn injuries (67.5%), respiratory problems due to dusty environment (55%), allergic responses (40%) and communicable infections from patients (10%). A reasonably high percentage of interns were taking proper precautions while working in the department (85%). A fair percentage of interns kept first aid ready in case of an emergency (62.5%). Most of them agreed on the fact that prosthodontists were more prone to develop health problems (70%). Conclusion: Incidence of occupational hazards among the studied group was high but there was a lack of emergency measures being taken in case of a mishap.