Due to the fact of manual handling of objects as a preliminary baked, flamed, or boiled, there is always a permanent hazard of skin burns.
There are some measures to protect workers in occupational environment. Toxic, irritant, and sensitising working materials should be substituted by less noxious equivalents, whenever practicable. Metal alloys containing no nickel or beryllium should be chosen to be on the market (for instance).
There must be properly constructed local ventilation systems in dental laboratories as a precautionary measure against skin and respiratory exposure to airborne contaminants. Qualitative general ventilation and enclosure systems are item essential provision. Safe and protective clothes should be made available and worn, eye, respiratory protection, and gloves are among them.
Dental technicians should wear protective goggles with side-shields during the work to avoid injuries, and appropriate gloves when handling heated objects. Properly selected gloves are of vital importance among control measures. Nitrile rubber and synthetic rubber gloves have been reported to give the longest protection from methacrylate monomers. Eating, drinking, and smoking should be prohibited in workplaces. Personnel must adopt standard procedures for manual handling of various substances and objects.
Hearing protection must be worn during critical operations, when the noise reaches the harmful levels. Job rotation can be used to reduce the exposure time while working with vibrational tools. Special anti-vibration gloves could be of some help.
Chair-side disinfection of dental prostheses before laboratory procedures is the key to keeping microbial contamination out of the dental laboratory.
To prevent musculoskeletal and repetitive strain disorders, improvement of height relationships of a chair and different work surfaces should be considered. Apart from one longer rest in a silent and well-ventilated area, personnel are encouraged to have at least two 10-minute breaks more, preferably performing some exercise for arms and spine.
CONCLUSION
Although not always apparent, numerous occupational health hazards are present in manufacturing dental prostheses. Along with introduction of new dental materials, there is an ever-growing need for occupational health practitioners to be aware of the work processes in this occupation, to recognise possible hazards, and to implement appropriate preventive measures to protect the workers’ health. Further studies are needed to evaluate the occupational carcinogenic risk of exposure to a variety of chemical agents.