The topic of occupational safety is usually treated with a shrug of the shoulders and neglected by both laboratory owners and their employees, but it is an important and essential topic that should not be neglected.
Although the hazard factors in dental technology must be recorded by every business owner in the risk assessment, the handling of, for example, is differentn types of dust or other hazardous substances are so commonplace for every dental technician that many hardly think about them in everyday laboratory work. As a rule, dental technicians do not fall from roofs or suffer fatal injuries during their work, so that they often do not sufficiently perceive a threat to their own health. In the field of dental technology, the consequences of an unsafe way of working usually only appear later on. For this reason, occupational safety should be much more Attention is paid to protect your own health and that of your colleagues in the long term.
biological agents
In the laboratory, contact with so-called biological agents – e.g. B. bacteria, viruses, fungi – to everyday life. Can you be sure whether, for example, impressions, bite templates or face bows have been properly disinfected before the practice sends them back to the laboratory? Or is it possible to know if the patient who brings the prosthesis to be repaired is infected with hepatitis? Therefore, appropriate hygiene rules are in placeWritten in the TRBA 250 (Technical Rule Biological Arfuels in health care and welfare) can be found. In addition to regular minimum protective measures – such as setting up proper hand washing areas, disinfection facilities, surface treatment of work tables and skin protection and care – measures for contact with aerosols containing infectious agents are also described there. This includes the need to wear protective goggles and FFP2 masks.
mechanical hazards
Also worth mentioning are the mechanical hazards, for example the considerable risk of slipping due to splashing water or plastic crumbs on smooth floors. Rotating instruments such as polishing machines, milling machines or the handpiece for finishing as well as unwelcome encounters with broken and flying fragments of cutting discs are also part of the risk. Wearing the prescribed protective goggles makes perfect sense. This applies to all grinding work, because metal chips or plastic parts quickly end up in the eye without glasses. The dangers of grinding should not be underestimated, because slipping or tilting can lead to serious injuries to the hands. Good support and maximum attention are absolutely necessary in this regard. Tying long hair together is not only an advantage, but also a requirement. It’s hard to imagine what happens when the hairstyle gets caught in the polishing machine at 2,800 revolutions per minute.
hazardous materials
In a survey by the Association of Medical Professionals eV, loud suction devices were frequently identified as one of the stress factors called and therefore prefer to remain switched off. That can turn out to be turn out to be a fatal mistake, because such substances can Harm health by being ingested through breathing. This includes, for example, all kinds of dust, but also monomers used in plastics processing. in dangerSubstances Ordinance is anchored that the hazards from abreathing and skin contact are evaluated in the risk assessment. The employers’ liability insurance association BG ETEM has created a sample list of hazardous substances in which, among other things, the individual manufacturers and products, their ingredients and information on data safety sheets are listed. The necessary Protective measures must be taken by the employer according to the STOP principle, i.e. their ranks or rowsbe defined as follows:
Substitution: Activities involving hazardous substances are to be avoided. Whenever possible, these should be replaced by non-hazardous substances or other corresponding processes. For example, PMMA can be used for repairs or liningsnot replace ments until now. In the manufacture of full dentures, on the other hand, it is mediumwhile possible through digital production, i.e. the substitution of the process, direct contact to avoid with monomer.
Ttechnical measures: If a substance cannot be replaced – such as PMMA – technical measures must be taken. Because of the toxic monomer vapors are thus z. B. Appropriate and working suction devices required.
Oorganization: This includes regulations to make work processes healthier and safer. In terms of the PMMA example: Could a particularly well-ventilated room with special extraction only be created for mixing plastics.
Ppersonal protective equipment: In order to prevent PMMA splashes in the eyes or skin contact during processing, protective goggles and nitrile gloves are an essential part of the personal protective equipment of dental technicians who work with plastics.
The psychological factors
Mental stress are all detectable influences that affect people from the outside. Since 2013, these have had to be recorded in all companies in the psychological risk assessment that has to be prepared specifically for this purpose. It is not about the mental state of the employees, but rather about evaluating the following areas and finding solutions together as a team:
- Work content/work task (e.g. completeness of the task, scope for action)
- Work organization (e.g. working hours, work breaks)
- Social relationships (e.g. number of social contacts, social support, managerial qualifications)
- work environment (e.g. noise, lighting, ergonomics) and
- New forms of work (e.g. mobility, atypical employment relationships, more flexible working hours).
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the psychological risk assessment has also had to be readjusted – forms and guidelines can be found on the website of the professional associations. Unfortunately, this topic is still the weknown to most employers. But with that they give away one wonderful tool to strengthen employee satisfaction and team spirit. However, the psychological risk assessment is not a “free choice”, but a sensible regulation of the legislator and therefore an obligation to prevent overload! The results of an online survey on the subject of stress in dental technology from 2019 by the Association of Medical Professions show the extraordinary explosiveness of the topic.
physical effects
Dental technicians are also exposed to various physical influences in their everyday work. This includes noise that of different devices such as the extraction system or Polishing motors can be caused. Some manufacturers now offer low-noise extraction systems and it is certainly better if the workplace is not directly next to the polishing motor. But the loud radio or permanent grinding noises can also be a decisive factor. Hearing protection should therefore be worn if the noise is persistent. It should also go without saying that protective goggles must be worn when lasering, in order to see through the bundled light does not cause eye damage. Also Carpal tunnel syndrome should not be underestimated: This can be a result of the permanent vibrations when grinding with the handpiece. Numbness, pain and weakness in the hand are symptoms that should be clarified by a doctor and treated accordingly. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has been included in the European list of occupational diseases since 2003 and was ranked 6th among the occupational diseases recognized in the European Union in 2001.
Therefore: raise awareness!
There are numerous other examples of what can happen to dental technicians in their daily work. It is therefore important to raise awareness in order to deal with hazards sensibly and to comply with legal requirements. In addition, the increasing digitization of certain work processes to improve occupational safety. Employers who value their employees comply with the regulations because for them the protection of health should have top priority. Healthy employees who feel valued work more motivated and therefore more efficientlyter, sothat the additional costs of occupational safety quickly are balanced. And as an employee, I simply have to value it myself. Not more but also not less!
Author: Karola Will, Association of Medical Professionals eV| Head of Dental Technology www.vmf-online.de
The article is under the original title “Often neglected, but important: Risk assessment in the dental laboratory” in the ZWL dental technology economy laboratory appeared.