SKIN PROBLEMS AMONG DANISH DENTAL-TECHNICIANS - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Our objective was to evaluate changes in the prevalence of skin proble ms on the hands among dental technicians during the last 10 years by c omparison with results of a previous study, to study whether the prese nce and location of skin problems could be related to work with acryla tes, and to study whether the use of gloves had any influence on the p revalence of the skin problems. A cross-sectional questionnaire study among 192 dental technicians at work was performed using an expanded v ersion of a questionnaire from a Danish survey 10 years ago. The cumul ative prevalence of skin problems on the hands was 53%. The 1-year pre valence of skin problems on the hands was 43%. The point prevalence of skin problems on the hands was 36%. These prevalence figures were pro foundly higher than the figures reported for the general population, a nd the figures did not differ from those obtained in the study 10 year s ago. The point prevalence of skin problems on the hands among indivi duals handling acrylates was 38% higher than among individuals who nev er worked with acrylates. No difference in the occurrence of skin prob lems was observed between individuals using gloves and individuals who did not use gloves while handling acrylates. The prevalence differenc e of skin problems on the fingertips was 7.3% between individuals hand ling acrylates daily or several times a week and individuals handling acrylates less frequently. The present study reveals that working as a dental technician is associated with an increased risk of developing skin problems on the hands compared with the general population, This risk has not decreased during the last 10 years.