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Background: Psychological stress can cause various mental and physical health problems. The previous results on stress and oral health are inconsistent, possibly because of the narrow stress measurements. We aimed to examine the association between a broader range of stressful life events and oral health among workers., Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed anonymous individual data from a national survey in Japan. Data on stressful life events, oral health problems which are one or more of tooth pain, gum swelling/bleeding, and difficulty chewing, and covariates were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. Covariates used included gender, age group, and disease under treatment. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between stressful life events and oral health problems. We then estimated the causal treatment effects of stress using the augmented inverse-probability weighting (AIPW) method., Results: Among the 274,881 subjects, 152,850 men (55.6%) and 122,031 women (44.4%) with a mean age of 47.0 (standard deviation, 14.4) years, 4.0% reported oral health problems, with a prevalence of 2.1% among those without any stress. The prevalence increased with stress score, reaching 15.4% for those with the maximum stress score. The adjusted odds ratio of this group compared to those without any stress was 9.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2-10.3). The estimated prevalence of oral health problems by the AIPW analysis was 2.2% (95% CI, 2.1-2.3%) for those without any stress and 14.4% (95% CI, 12.1-16.7%) for those with the maximum stress scores., Conclusion: There was a clear dose-response association between stressful life events and oral health problems.

Introduction: Occupational Dentistry is a specialty recently acknowledged by the Federal Council of Dentistry that seeks to prevent work-related oral health issues. It aims to improve workers' quality of life and promote a more efficient productive development., Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the subject of Occupational Dentistry was included in the curriculum of undergraduate Dentistry courses in Southeast Brazil., Methods: The curriculum of universities registered on the Brazilian Ministry of Health's website (e-MEC) were analyzed regarding type of university administration (private or public), inclusion of Occupational Dentistry in the curriculum of Dentistry courses, whether the subject was compulsory or not, and subject workload. Universities that did not make the course curriculum available on their website were excluded from the analysis., Results: Of 176 universities registered on e-MEC, 144 were included in the study. Most universities (86.9%) were private, whereas only 13.1% were public. Occupational Dentistry was available in 10 universities. The subject was compulsory in 4 and optional in another 4 universities, with a total mean workload of 37.5 hours. Two universities did not disclose this information., Conclusions: Our analysis allowed the investigation of the overall inclusion of Occupational Dentistry in the curriculum of Dentistry courses in Southeast Brazil. Only a small percentage of universities (6.9%), mostly private, included the subject in the course curriculum, usually on a compulsory basis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: None

Objective: To establish the factors associated with burnout syndrome in dental specialists working in the city of Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which the validated version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) questionnaire was applied to 117 dental specialists. The variables analysed were the scores obtained in the three dimensions of the instrument - sociodemographic and job-related characteristics, professional environment, and habits. Spearman's correlation coefficient and the Mann Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis U test were used in the bivariate analysis, and a logistic regression was performed in the multivariate analysis. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Each participant accepted their inclusion in the study after the Informed Consent process was done., Results: The average age was 44.0 ± 7.8 years, and 57.3% were women. It was observed that 3.4%, 4.3% and 4.3% of respondents scored highly in emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and lack of personal achievement, respectively. Cigarette smoking presented a direct association with the dimensions of depersonalisation (p = 0.031) and lack of personal achievement (p = 0.025). On the other hand, having completed the postgraduate degree 10 years or more ago showed a negative association in these two dimensions (p = 0.049 and p = 0.045, respectively)., Conclusions: The results suggest that burnout syndrome is not a frequent problem in dental specialists who work in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area. However, it is important to keep in mind that a relationship was observed between the syndrome and smoking, and the years after graduating in the specialty., (Copyright © 2021 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

This study is a comprehensive, cross-sectional survey in occupational burnout, career satisfaction, and quality of life conducted in March 2021 among dentists in the vast area of metropolitan Athens, Greece. Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire based on the Copenhagen Questionnaire (CQ) for assessing work stress and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS) for evaluating occupational burnout. Using the independent t -test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression, 804 valid questionnaires were analyzed. During the pandemic, personal exhaustion was affected by gender ( b = 1.862, p = 0.0001), age ( b = -0.598, p = 0.0001), number of children ( b = -0.886, p = 0.020) and higher degree ( b = -0.450, p = 0.012). Exhaustion due to working with patients was affected by gender (b = 0.662 p = 0.0001), age ( b = -0.513, p = 0.0001), number of children ( b = -0.701, p = 0.0001), higher degree ( b = -0.207, p = 0.028) and years in practice ( b = 0.408 p = 0.0001). Males were more prone to unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and professional physical and emotional exhaustion, but personal resources through higher education, beliefs, values, and hobbies can offer a preventive shield to all dental professionals. Economic management issues can also enhance dentists' satisfaction and feeling of safety in a rapidly changing environment.

Objectives: During the corona pandemic, dental practices temporarily closed their doors to patients except for emergency treatments. Due to the daily occupational exposure, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission among dentists and their team is presumed to be higher than that in the general population. This study examined this issue among dental teams across Germany., Materials and Methods: In total, 2784 participants provided usable questionnaires and dry blood samples. Dry blood samples were used to detect IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The questionnaires were analyzed to investigate demographic data and working conditions during the pandemic. Multivariable logistic mixed-effects models were applied., Results: We observed 146 participants with positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies (5.2%) and 30 subjects with a borderline finding (1.1%). Seventy-four out of the 146 participants with SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies did not report a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test (50.7%), while 27 participants without SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies reported a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test (1.1%). Combining the laboratory and self-reported information, the number of participants with a SARS-CoV-2 infection was 179 (6.5%). Though after adjustment for region, mixed-effects models indicated associations of use of rubber dams (OR 1.65; 95% CI: 1.01-2.72) and the number of protective measures (OR 1.16; 95% CI: 1.01-1.34) with increased risk for positive SARS-CoV-2 status, none of those variables was significantly associated with a SARS-CoV-2 status in fully adjusted models., Conclusions: The risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission was not higher among the dental team compared to the general population., Clinical Relevance: Following hygienic regulations and infection control measures ensures the safety of the dental team and their patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Due attention has not been given yet to workers' health problems arising from oral diseases and to the impacts of not having an appropriate professional, i.e., dental surgeon, as part of the specialized service team of large companies, even acknowledging that the participation of these professionals is positive for improving workers' quality of life and the productive performance of the company. Based on these premises, and through a literature review conducted from a search on the electronic portal of Brazilian Dentistry Bibliography, SciELO, and MEDLINE databases, the present study aimed to demonstrate factors that justify the integration of dental surgeons in occupational health programs of companies. The following advantages were mentioned: reduction in absenteeism and in the number of work accidents, productivity growth, and improvement in company image and in employees' quality of life. In conclusion, the occupational health care model cannot be dissociated from oral health, considering the significant benefits both for employees and for companies themselves., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: None

Introduction: This article aims to review the current national and international dental guidance produced during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic to identify the level of consensus on aerosol-generating dental procedures (AGDPs). The outcomes intend to encourage increased collaboration with respect to dental guidelines in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as to improve decision making and safety for dental patients and staff., Methods: This rapid review was conducted by 2 authors (MKV and KD), with the support of a third author (SD), to assess current guidelines related to dental AGDPs. This streamlined review approach allowed synthesis of data in an efficient manner in the rapidly evolving environment associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic., Results: The findings identified 1) a lack of consistency in reporting which procedures were deemed an AGDP; 2) that high-speed handpieces, air-water syringes, and mechanical scalers were consistently considered high-risk AGDPs; 3) a lack of consensus on the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission with the use of slow-speed handpieces; 4) a general agreement, when described, that rubber dam and high-volume evacuation can significantly reduce aerosol production; and 5) a lack of consistency in reporting whether procedures constitute a low, moderate, or high risk of COVID-19 transmission. The findings are discussed in relation to the guidance and future recommendations., Conclusion: It is recommended that future published guidance should indicate the risk stratification (low/moderate/high) of each procedure/exposure in a standardized international approach., Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this rapid review can be used by clinicians to increase their awareness of international guidance on aerosol-generating procedures in dentistry. It will also encourage those publishing future guidance to provide an internationally standardized, risk-stratified approach to describing aerosol-generating procedures. Currently, it allows clinicians to consider aerosol-generating procedures as a risk spectrum.

Objective: To establish the factors associated with burnout syndrome in dental specialists working in the city of Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which the validated version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) questionnaire was applied to 117 dental specialists. The variables analysed were the scores obtained in the three dimensions of the instrument - sociodemographic and job-related characteristics, professional environment, and habits. Spearman's correlation coefficient and the Mann Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis U test were used in the bivariate analysis, and a logistic regression was performed in the multivariate analysis. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Each participant accepted their inclusion in the study after the Informed Consent process was done., Results: The average age was 44.0±7.8 years, and 57.3% were women. It was observed that 3.4%, 4.3% and 4.3% of respondents scored highly in emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and lack of personal achievement, respectively. Cigarette smoking presented a direct association with the dimensions of depersonalisation (p=0.031) and lack of personal achievement (p=0.025). On the other hand, having completed the postgraduate degree 10 years or more ago showed a negative association in these two dimensions (p=0.049 and p=0.045, respectively)., Conclusions: The results suggest that burnout syndrome is not a frequent problem in dental specialists who work in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area. However, it is important to keep in mind that a relationship was observed between the syndrome and smoking, and the years after graduating in the specialty., (Copyright © 2021 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

COVID-19 is a novel viral respiratory disease caused by a member of the coronavirus family, SARS-CoV-2, and has been declared as a pandemic on March 2020. Dental practitioners are routinely exposed to infectious bodily excretions, for example, saliva, blood, and respiratory excretions. Therefore, they are in the first line of SARS-CoV-2 infection-prone health care providers. The purposes of the current review are to trace documented cases of COVID-19 transmission inside dental settings worldwide and to explore the clinical management of these cases., Methods: We searched MEDLINE and Google Scholar for all possible reported cases of COVID-19 transmission in dental practice as of December 1, 2019, until May 13, 2020. Multiple terms and combinations were used, including "coronavirus," "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2," "dental," "dentistry," "transmission," and "nosocomial." Articles that were not written in English were excluded., Results: A total of 78 articles were found from December 29, 2019, until May 13, 2020. Of these, 31 articles discussed the risks related to dental practice and recommended infection management protocols for dental health care personnel. Of these articles, only 1 had reported data on transmission of COVID-19 in dental practice. Two possible transmissions of COVID-19 to dental personnel were reported in China before its recognition as an epidemic., Conclusions: Although it seems that there are almost no reported cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 during dental treatments, occupational or nosocomial transmission could not be ruled out. Hence, further prospective assessment of COVID-19 transmission is urgently required, and careful and protective measurements are necessary to avoid infection during dental practice., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic is not solely limited to SARS-CoV-2 infection. It may also be related to social, cultural, and environmental factors, which may act as additional stressors. The aim of the current study was to explore the association between psychological distress and subjective overload among dentists in different countries, and whether it is associated with COVID-19-related factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1302 dentists from China, India, Israel, Italy, and the UK, who filled out demographics data, COVID-19-related factor questions, subjective overload, and psychological distress scales. Our findings showed that the positive association between subjective overload and psychological distress was different among countries, suggesting higher rate of intensity in Italy compared to China, India, and Israel (the UK was near significance with China and Israel). The interaction variable of the subjective overload × psychological distress was significantly associated with a particular country, with those individuals reporting fear of contracting COVID-19 from patients, fear of their families contracting COVID-19, and receiving enough professional knowledge regarding COVID-19. Given the above, dentists were found to have elevated levels of subjective overload and psychological distress, which differed among the countries, presumably due to certain background issues such as social, cultural, and environmental factors., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Oral health is an important factor of human morbidity worldwide. Yet is often neglected in occupational health despite its direct impact on the quality of life and health of workers., Objective: To discuss the role of oral health in sickness absence and presenteeism, as well as in development and work efficiency improvement processes involving governments, companies and the workers themselves., Methods: Review of full-text articles on oral health, occupational health, sickness absence and presenteeism published in English or Portuguese in the last 10 years and included in scientific databases., Results: Oral problems accounted for 9 to 27% cases of sickness absence and 28 to 50% of presenteeism, with toothache and temporomandibular joint pain as the most frequent reasons. About 50% of workers prefer company-provided dental care, while 40% visit public and 10% other types of facilities. Despite high, the prevalence of oral diseases and orofacial pain was not associated with high rates of absenteeism, but mainly with presenteeism, this is to say, workers do not tend to miss work days, but their performance is reduced and become susceptible to more serious health problems in the future., Conclusion: Oral health is not dissociated from general and occupational health, and as such it must be enhanced and duly promoted in an integrated manner. Effective and comprehensive oral health promotion and prevention public policies and private sector actions in the workplace can enhance the quality of life of workers.

Background: In dental practical classes, the acoustic environment is characterized by high noise levels in relation to other teaching areas. The aims of this study were to measure noise levels produced during the different dental learning clinics, by equipments used in dental learning areas under different working conditions and by used and brand new handpieces under different working conditions., Materials and Methods: The noise levels were measured by using a noise level meter with a microphone, which was placed at a distance of 15 cm from a main noise source in pre-clinical and clinical areas. In laboratories, the microphone was placed at a distance of 15 cm and another reading was taken 2 m away. Noise levels of dental learning clinics were measured by placing noise level meter at clinic center. The data were collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed using t-tests. Significance level was set at 5%., Results: In dental clinics, the highest noise was produced by micro motor handpiece while cutting on acrylic (92.2 dB) and lowest noise (51.7 dB) was created by ultrasonic scaler without suction pump. The highest noise in laboratories was caused by sandblaster (96 dB at a distance of 15 cm) and lowest noise by stone trimmer when only turned on (61.8 dB at a distance of 2 m). There was significant differences in noise levels of the equipment's used in dental laboratories and dental learning clinics (P = 0.007). The highest noise level recorded in clinics was at pedodontic clinic (67.37 dB)., Conclusions: Noise levels detected in this study were considered to be close to the limit of risk of hearing loss 85 dB.

Aim: To evaluate an oral health awareness campaign in an adult population., Design/setting: Four workplaces in north-east London were selected, matched in two pairs and randomly allocated to test and control groups. Completion occurred in 1995., Subjects: 98 volunteer employees in good general health., Interventions: Two oral examinations were carried out, six weeks apart. The test group received the programme immediately after baseline examination and the controls after the second visit., Main Outcome Measures: Gingival bleeding on probing (BOP) and probing depths (PD) were measured on each occasion using a controlled pressure probe., Results: The mean percentage of sites with BOP per subject reduced from 56% to 25% in the test group, while remaining static in the control group at 46% to 48%. The mean percentage of sites probing 4 mm and above per subject reduced from 38% to 25% in the test group and from 28% to 25% in the control group. These differences between groups were statistically significant when submitted to analysis of covariance (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: The study showed the clinical effectiveness of a workplace-based oral health awareness campaign, which is ideally suited to the skills and resources of the primary care dental team.

Bad dental hygiene in adults is usually the result of bad care during childhood. Within the framework of Health for All, WHO and the International Dental Federation defined global objectives for dental health which allow for monitoring progress in different countries. The most common dental problems, such as dental cavities, can be prevented by simple and inexpensive methods. Dental health is based on dental hygiene, nutrition, fluoride intake and dental service utilisation. Dental health promotion aims to create an environment favourable to the adoption of these healthy behaviours. The principle recommended dental health measures are through fluoridation of water, salt, and milk, a low consumption of sweets, and modification of the amount of sugar in the diet; implementation of monitored dental hygiene activities in schools; the organisation of regular dental services in schools/workplaces; and adopting legislative texts or laws requiring certain measures of prevention. In the past several years, certain African countries have set up national dental health programmes (there were 12 in 1993), However, the implementation of dental health promotion generally doesn't result from a national initiative, but from a regional or local scale. This is largely due to the lack of integration of dental health in activities of education and health promotion in general. Programmes planned at a national level and then implemented at a local level on a multisectoral base have had more success. This article presents examples of dental health promotion activities in several African countries, mainly focusing on programmes aimed at 12-13 year olds in primary school. Programmes from Morocco, Kenya, Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, and Tanzania are briefly presented and show that in Africa, dental health promotion has mostly consisted of the implementation of health education actions and that there are no consistent policies, unlike in other developing countries, for fluoridation of water, salt, and milk. In terms of dental health promotion, WHO recommends the promotion of traditional methods of dental hygiene (such as plants or sticks for cleaning), especially among adolescents living in rural and low income communities. In turn, the identification and promotion of the positive aspects of hygiene and traditional care will allow for the implementation of more culturally acceptable approaches.

A dental health promotion program which aimed to prevent periodontal disease was carried out at a shipyard in Nagasaki Prefecture. Repeated tooth cleaning instruction and prophylaxis were conducted in order to adopt proper oral hygiene habits. The first 3 months of this program included 'Initial instruction,' and 'Regular instruction' were given every 6 months in following 2 years. The oral examination was carried out before and after Initial instruction, and at each Regular instruction. The effect of this program was evaluated by 2 measures: CPITN and Bleeding on probing. After this program, the rate of teeth with pockets 4 -5 mm deep or deeper (CPITN 3, 4) was decreased. In contrast, the rate of teeth with no sign of periodontal disease (CPITN 0) was increased remarkably: the percentage increased from 8% preinitial instruction to 40% with regular instruction. Both the rate and grade of teeth with bleeding on probing were decreased. These results indicated that this program was helpful in improving the periodontal status. CPITN and Bleeding on probing at each tooth as an evaluation measure made our analysis more detailed.

Oral cancer and precancer appear to fulfil many of the criteria for a disease suitable for mass screening. Several commercial organisations in the UK have introduced screening for their employees. One program has been formally evaluated over the course of 1 yr. Of 553 company headquarters staff aged > or = 40 yr, 292 (53%) responded to the well-publicised screening invitation and received a simple clinical examination of the oral mucosa from one of two company dentists. In addition, 17 staff were screened from a separate company work-site. After screening, subjects were examined independently by an oral medicine specialist with access to the relevant diagnostic aids. The dentists' screening decisions were validated against the specialist's definitive diagnoses (the 'gold standard'). The true prevalence of subjects with lesions diagnosed as positive (white patch, red patch or ulcer of greater than 2 weeks' duration) was 17 (5.5%). Overall, sensitivity was 0.71 and specificity, 0.99. The compliance rate to screening among headquarters subjects in seven occupational categories did not differ significantly from the occupational profile for all headquarters personnel. Estimates of relative risk of a positive diagnosis were calculated by logistic regression for five independent variables; gender, age, moderate smoking, heavy smoking, and smoking combined with greater than low risk alcohol consumption. Only heavy smoking (> or = 20 cigarettes per day) produced a significant odds ratio (3.43, P < 0.05).

Employees from an industrial group in Brisbane were examined at the workplace and found to have generally low levels of dental disease. At the same time, the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that less than 45 per cent of Australians attend a dentist annually. This low attendance for regular dental care reduces the effectiveness of any preventive dental service. A pilot scheme of preventive dental care was provided for employees at the workplace in Brisbane. The aim of the programme was to provide regular health counselling and reinforcement of oral health activities, general dental information, regular prophylaxis, scaling and cleaning, and referrals for restorative care. The preventive programme was appropriate given the disease levels. The services were effective in improving the periodontal status and restorative care which resulted from referrals. As well, the preventive dental care programme proved to be readily acceptable to both employees and management.

The condition of the stomatognathic system was studied in 5682 adult patients attending stomatological care services in regional outpatient clinics, health service centres, and industrial health service units in 6 provinces. Most frequently, the patients came to these services with emergency symptoms. Poor state of teeth was observed in all these service units, but the worst oral hygiene and the highest percent of parodontal diseases were found in industrial health service institutions. In this group tooth loss was most frequent. These results indicate that the stomatological health care in industrial service units despite an above average equipment of dental care rooms, better availability of dental care, and sufficient staffing is not better than in the stomatological care units available to the general population.

The authors describe the importance and the set of problems of gerostomatologic investigation by means of a synopsis of literature. Resulting phenomens of adiposity on the system of teeth, mouth and jaws are discussed. The results of a cross-section research of 108 men, mainly overweighting, all relatives of the VEB Kombinat GISAG, underly the statistical part of the lecture. A multitude of findings at the teeth, periodont, tongue, gingiva and the jaws are stated and interpreted adequately the weight and the age of the patients. Some surprising results are discovered particularly with regard to the results depending on the weight. This seems to necessitate a reconsideration in a greater group of patients in a longitudinal section research.

Presence of clinically diagnosed TMJ dysfunction and the length of sick leaves were significantly associated in a sample of 599 male Finnish shipyard workers. Neglect of dental health care did not seem to be an explanatory factor, because the amount of untreated caries and the regularity of dental care did not differ significantly between the orthofunction and dysfunction groups. Although the association is no proof for a causal relationship, TMJ dysfunction may explain at least a part of the increase in days on sick leave, because dysfunction was found to be common and at best symptomatically treated in the population studied.

Occurrence of periodontal disease was investigated in an industrial population by a modified Peridontal Treatment Need System (PTNS). The study comprised an initial clinical examination and a follow-up examination of 165 persons 1 year later. The reproducibility of the modified PTNS was satisfactory; in a subsample studied twice the weighted kappa with its 99% confidence limits was 0.80 +/- 0.18. Only 3% of the dentulous subjects had no treatment need because of gingival or periodontal disease in the first clinical examination, in spite of the low mean age (33.2 years) of the population. The periodontium of the maxillary teeth was significantly (P less than 0.001) than that in the mandibular teeth, but there were no significant differences between right and left side of jaws. During the 1-year follow-up period the periodontal condition of 23% of subjects improved, whereas in 9% it deteriorated.

The periodontal status of 680 industrial employees in Adelaide, South Australia, was assessed in a descriptive epidemiologic survey. Full mouth recording using the recently proposed WHO 'TRS 621' survey method (14) was used by two calibrated examiners. Periodontal disease in this population was highly prevalent and typically of moderate severity. Only 4.2% of the subjects were free from any signs of periodontal disease. In 11.1% the disease manifestation was confined to reversible gingivitis. Mild periodontal disease was evident in approximately 60% and severe disease in 25% of the population. The major treatment requirement in all age groups could be categorized as "simple periodontal treatment" manageable by non specialist dental resources. More than 90% of pockets detected occurred interproximally. Some features of the proposed WHO 'TRS 621' survey methodology are discussed.