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The practice of mercury hygiene among Nigerian dentists in three southwestern states
(2015) Iwaola,M.O.; Ajayi, D.M.; Abiodun-Solanke I.M.F.; Oke, G.
Background: Dental amalgam has been in use for a very long time in the field of restorative dentistry as an intracoronal restorative material. Despite its long usage, there have been reports about adverse health effects arising from the exposure to minute mercury released from amalgam to the dentists if not properly handled. Aim: The aim was to find out the compliance of Nigerian dentists with recommendations on mercury hygiene practices. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire consisting of three parts was conducted among registered dentists. The first part of the questionnaire sought demographic characteristics of. respondents while second part assessed measures taken by the caregiver himself while working with amalgam and the last part assessed measures taken to control and prevent mercury contamination within the clinical setup. Result: There was total compliance with the use of gloves when working with amalgam among the participants. However, the house officers had the highest tendency of always wearing face mask and protective clothing followed by specialist in training. There, was a statistically significant difference in the tendency to always wear face mask (x2 = 2.1.37, P= 0.00) and protective clothing (y2 = 24.77, P= 0.00) as against occasional and never wearing them,' among the different categories of dentists. Compliance with the use of .rubber dam and alternative source of air was found to be generally poor among the professionals studied. More than two-third of all dentists studied never used the two preventive measures. About 78% never used rubber dam when working with amalgam. The method of handling excess mercury was found to be more appropriate among the respondents in the teaching hospitals and poorest among those in private set-up. Furthermore, a great majority (87.5%) of those working in private clinics had never heard of mercury vapor monitoring. Conclusion: It was noted that some of the standard mercury hygiene practices such as the use of rubber dam, high volume suction, and water cooling when removing or polishing amalgam restorations were not followed properly.
Self Reported Musculoskeletal Pain Among Dentists
(2011) Abiodun-Solanke I.M.F; Ajayi, D.M.; Agbaje J.O.; Arotiba J.T.
Background: Musculoskeletal complaint is an important health issue among dentists. Given the significance of this topic, we considered it necessary to investigate the prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal disease among Nigerian dentists Aim/Objectives: To assess the work- related complaints among dentists with the specific objective of finding out the prevalence of neck and back pain among dentists Materials and Methods: A structured questionnaire was sent to tivo hundred and fifty practising dentists in 3states capitals which were randomly selected from South - Western Nigeria. Participants were drawn from general hospitals, private clinics and teaching hospitals. Participants included general practitioners, specialists in restorative dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, child oral health (pediatric and orthodontists), period ontology and oral pathology. Results: The response to participate in the study was 66.7% out of which 60% correctly filled questionnaire was analyzed. The mean age of participants was 32.8 ± 6.8years (SD) with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. Prevalence of back pain was 89.6% while that of neck pain was 81.3%. Back pain was found to be higher in females (91.7%) compared to males (88.1%) while neck pain was higher in males (82.1%) compared with to females (80.0%). Back and neck pain were highest in those who worked 8-12 hours per day. Back pain was highest(94A%) in those who had practiced for 6-10 years while those who had practiced for more than 20 years reported *the highest percentage of neck pain. Respondents in restorative dentistry all had back pain at one time or the other over a period of twelve months, while neck pain was highest among respondents in child oral health(91.7%) . 43% of respondents perform their procedures standing, while 38% use the sitting position and 19% alternate between standing and sitting position. Other work related complaints reported by the dentists include headache, shoulder pain, pain around the wrists and paresthesia of the fingers of the dominant hand More respondents missed work due to back pain irrespective of the gender. 17 respondents sought medical help due to neck pain out of which 8(47.1%)) received only analgesics while among those who sought medical attention due to back pain, 7(63.7%) received analgesics only. Conclusions: Occupational related health problems among Nigerian dentists were common. There is a substantial need and demand for further training in occupational health and safety among dentists.

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