About Member Health

It’s hardly surprising, then, to find that, as a profession, we experience higher than average levels of anxiety, addiction to things, and even depression which could even lead to suicides. So, there are a number of reasons why dentists could also suffer from health problems – they could, for example, be seeking a ruling on fitness to practise in cases of neurological disease such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis, or blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV – mental health problems and addictions.

The tendency for doctors and dentists is often to manage their own health problems, to self- medicate, to chat informally to a colleague rather than seek a proper consultation and treatment. We need to change the culture so that practitioners feel being able to access highly professional and confidential care. The focus of the “IDA Member Health Centre” will be on early intervention that leads to a healthy solution.

To see ourselves as being seen by others is a rare quality; so it might well be a colleague who has to persuade a disturbed dentist to seek appropriate medical care. It will be difficult, but IDA urges all of you to be vigilant – it’s far better to intervene than to wait for any disease to overpower our health completely.

Although identification of risks to dental healthcare workers has been explored in several industrialized nations, very little data is available from developing countries.

Occupational hazard can be defined as a risk to a person usually arising out of employment. It can also refer to a work, material, substance, process, or situation that predisposes, or itself causes accidents or disease, at a work place. The history of occupational hazard awareness can be traced back to the 18th century when Bernadino Ramazzini, who is referred to as the father of occupational medicine, recognized the role of occupation in the dynamics of health and diseases

The practice of dentistry exposes dental professionals to a variety of work-related hazards. These include:

• Working long hours at a high level of concentration
• Working in a sedentary state
• Working with anxious patients
• Exposure to microbial aerosols generated by high-speed rotary hand pieces
• Exposure to various chemicals used in clinical dental practice
• Other hazards

These hazards can pose significant risks to dental practitioners.

The occupational hazards found among dentists and other clinical dental workers are similar worldwide and include a wide range of risks and sometimes even legal hazards. The source of these hazards is the work environment which can include physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, and social aspects.