The evaluation of dental technicians’ awareness of silicosis

Abstract

Aim: Silicosis is an interstitial lung disease, caused by inhalation of inorganic silica particles. There are many silicosis cases that developed as a result of environmental and occupational exposure. In this study we aimed to evaluate dental technicians' awareness of silicosis diseases. Material and methods: The nineteen dental technicians were involved into the study. The technicians' demographic features, working conditions and knowledge they had about silicosis disease were recorded. Results: Twelve of the dental technicians were male and seven of them were women. The average age was 35.16 ± 9.03. Although 84.2% (16) of dental technicians were attended an occupational disease seminar, only 15.3% (3) of them were reported to have adequate information about occupational diseases. Even though 94.72% (18) of participants had heard about silicosis, 63.2% (12) of them indicated that they had knowledge about silicosis. While 5.32% (1) of them assessed ventilation in the workplace as adequate, 36.8% (7) of them found it as partially adequate and 57.9% (11) as insufficient. Conclusion: Silicosis disease, which is at increased risk due to inadequate ventilation conditions at workplaces and deficiencies in safeguard measures, still maintains its importance for dental technicians. Training seminars and informative meetings on silicosis have increased in recent years. However, the employees did not consider that they were being informed correctly and effectively. The informative meetings aiming to increase awareness of occupational diseases should be carried out in great numbers and effectively. © 2017, Scientific Publishers of India. All rights reserved.