Abstract
Dental students are at high risk of developing adverse respiratory reactions as a result of their practical work during their dentistry degree program when they come into contact with multiple airborne irritants and allergens. To estimate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms of exposure to substances in the workplace and associated risk factors in Bulgarian dental students. The prevalence of self-reported respiratory symptoms related to the pre-clinical and clinical training courses of the dentistry program was 12.4%. According to logistic regression analysis, the most important risk factors for work-related respiratory symptoms were a personal history of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (odds ratio (OR) 6.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.14-12.78), atopic dermatitis (OR 2.81, 95%CI: 1.26-6.26), and exposure to chemicals from dental environment for more than 6 hours a day (OR 3.60, 95%CI: 1.21-10.70). The results of this study suggest that work-related respiratory symptoms are frequent among dental students and indicate the need for efforts to establish effective primary preventive programs for occupational respiratory disorders at national level.
Highlights
Dental students are exposed to multiple irritants and allergens during the pre-clinical and clinical training courses of the dentistry program
A total of 58 (12.4%) respondents reported respiratory reactions related to the laboratory or clinical work with an improvement at weekends, during holidays and examination sessions when there was no contact with chemicals from the dental environment
This survey was conducted in two of the three existing Faculties of Dental Medicine in Bulgaria with response rate of 51.8%. This relatively large study revealed a high prevalence (12.4%) of self-reported respiratory symptoms related to airborne irritants and allergens from dental environment among the population of dental students in Bulgaria
Summary
Dental students are exposed to multiple irritants and allergens during the pre-clinical and clinical training courses of the dentistry program. The contact with dental materials, disinfectants and protective gloves causes mainly hand skin diseases[1-4] but exposure to airborne dental environment substances may lead to respiratory hypersensitivity[5,6] and even asthma[7]. Dental students are at high risk of developing adverse respiratory reactions as a result of their practical work during their dentistry degree program when they come into contact with multiple airborne irritants and allergens. Results: The prevalence of self-reported respiratory symptoms related to the pre-clinical and clinical training courses of the dentistry program was 12.4%. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that work-related respiratory symptoms are frequent among dental students and indicate the need for efforts to establish effective primary preventive programs for occupational respiratory disorders at national level
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