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Dental Environmental Noise Evaluation and Health Risk Model Construction to Dental Professionals

Author

Listed:
  • Kuen Wai Ma

    (Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Hai Ming Wong

    (Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Cheuk Ming Mak

    (Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract

Occupational noise is unavoidably produced from dental equipment, building facilities, and human voices in the dental environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of occupational noise exposure on the dental professionals’ health condition. The psychoacoustics approach noise exposure assessment followed by the health risk assessment was carried on at the paediatric dentistry clinic and the dental laboratory in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital of Hong Kong. The A-weighted equivalent sound level, total loudness, and sharpness values were statistically significantly higher for the noise at the laboratory than that at the clinic. The degree of perceived influences and sharpness of noise were found to have the impacts on the dental professionals’ working performance and health. Moreover, the risk of having a bad hearing state would a have 26% and 31% higher chance for a unit increment of the short-term and long-term impact scores, respectively. The dental professionals with the service length more than 10 years and the daily working hours of more than eight showed the highest risk to their hearing state. The worse the hearing state was, the worse the health state was found for the dental professionals. Also, the risk of dissatisfaction would be increased by 4.41 and 1.22 times for those who worked at the laboratory and a unit increment of the long-term impact score. The constructed health risk mode with the scientific and statistical evidence is hence important for the future noise management of environmental improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuen Wai Ma & Hai Ming Wong & Cheuk Ming Mak, 2017. "Dental Environmental Noise Evaluation and Health Risk Model Construction to Dental Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:9:p:1084-:d:112468
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Dierickx & Suzanne Verschraegen & Els Wierinck & Guy Willems & Astrid van Wieringen, 2021. "Noise Disturbance and Potential Hearing Loss Due to Exposure of Dental Equipment in Flemish Dentists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-13, May.
    2. Mohannad Nassar & Md Sofiqul Islam & Stancey D’souza & Milan Praveen & Mohammad Hani Al Masri & Salvatore Sauro & Ahmed Jamleh, 2023. "Tinnitus Prevalence and Associated Factors among Dental Clinicians in the United Arab Emirates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-10, January.
    3. Sedina Kalender Smajlović & Andreja Kukec & Mateja Dovjak, 2019. "Association between Sick Building Syndrome and Indoor Environmental Quality in Slovenian Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, September.

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