DENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS-INDUSTRY - A REVIEW

The study of medical evacuation records from offshore installation wor kers indicates that dental pathology is a significant problem. Dental evacuations (dentivacs) account for the highest single category of med ical evacuation (medivacs). Dentivacs result in human suffering and ar e the cause of many lost man hours for the major oil operators in the United Kingdom. This paper reviews the reporting of dentivacs at Shell Expro over a seven year period and makes some suggestions for the way forward in the handling of offshore dental problems.