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Objectives: The purpose of the study was to examine hearing thresholds among dental personnel. The secondary aim was to evaluate sound levels among dental equipment that dental personnel are exposed to., Methods: Two hundred forty-four dentists, dental technicians, dental assistants, and dental students participated. Sixty-two participated as a control group. Audiological thresholds for the test groups were compared to the control group. All participants were from Jordan University Hospital. Participants completed a questionnaire in addition to their audiometric testing. Otoscopy, tympanometry, and pure tone audiometry were included in their assessment. Three-factor ANOVA and t tests were utilized to assess the statistical differences of hearing thresholds among the groups and between the two ears. Pearson correlation test was used to assess the effect of age, experience, and duration of exposure on the degree of hearing loss in the test groups for both ears., Results: The authors reported statistically significant differences among hearing thresholds between the control group and others. Left hearing thresholds were noted to be significantly poorer in the left versus right ear at 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz in dental assistants. The authors also reported a significant relationship between the degree of hearing impairment among dental assistants and the daily duration of exposure to dental occupational noise, followed by age., Conclusion: Hearing impairment was higher among dental professionals than the control group and especially among dental assistants and technicians. The authors recommended screening guidelines and adapting hearing protection methods for dental professionals and particularly for dental assistants and technicians., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Occupational Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Japan Society for Occupational Health.)

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and nature of oral health problems among workers exposed to acid fumes in two industries in Jordan., Setting: Jordan's Phosphate Mining Company and a main private battery factory., Design: Comparison of general and oral health conditions between workers exposed to acid fumes and control group from the same workplace., Subjects and Methods: The sample consisted of 68 subjects from the phosphate industry (37 acid workers and 31 controls) drawn as a sample of convenience and 39 subjects from a battery factory (24 acid workers and 15 controls). Structured questionnaires on medical and dental histories were completed by interview. Clinical examinations were carried out to assess dental erosion, oral hygiene, and gingival health using the appropriate indices. Data were statistically analysed using Wilcoxon rank-sum test to assess the significance of differences between results attained by acid workers and control groups for the investigated parameters., Results: Differences in the erosion scores between acid workers in both industries and their controls were highly significant (P<0.05). In both industries, acid workers showed significantly higher oral hygiene scores, obtained by adding the debris and calculus scores, and gingival index scores than their controls (P<0.05). The single most common complaint was tooth hypersensitivity (80%) followed by dry mouth (77%) on average., Conclusion: Exposure to acid fumes in the work place was significantly associated with dental erosion and deteriorated oral health status. Such exposure was also detrimental to general health. Findings pointed to the need of establishing appropriate educational, preventive and treatment measures coupled with efficient surveillance and environmental monitoring for detection of acid fumes in the workplace atmosphere.