Occupational Injuries of Dentists

All occupations including those providing you with a great income have both advantages and disadvantages. However, disadvantages of occupations in which people have to deal with people, especially patients are more outstanding. Practitioners like psychologists and physicians are some of them. In the same direction, the occupational injuries of dentists are not few and can threaten the dentists’ health.

If you or somebody are interested in dentistry, it’s important and valuable to know that although this job has a very good income, it may harm your health. Whether there’s are in a way that you cannot ignore them, or direct damage. Whilst being a whole variety and dozens of possible damages, the leading ones stay as the following. Psychological and mental damages, the risk of infecting with contagious and infectious diseases and physical injuries are the most important occupational injuries of dentists. Before any decision within this regard, it’s recommended for your own benefit to read this article thoroughly. If you want to gain more information, go and talk to specialized and experienced dentists, if possible.

Dentists’ Psychological Injuries Caused by Stress

During work for a dentist, the levels of stress experienced throughout their weeks is by far one of their most important occupational injuries. The stress would be caused by different factors, so to be informed about each of these factors would be very useful in managing them considerably. Management of time, costs, and rivalry in the workplace are among all most important stressful factors in dentistry.

Time Limitation, A Stressful Factor in Dentists

In most jobs, time management is among the most stressful, and important sections. This goes along with dentistry. Although, there are rumors and thoughts of all kinds relating to how easy dentistry is, are nearly all false. As dentists need to spend much time for every single one of their patients. Additionally, being committed to apply the maximum level of patience and precision; to gain the best possible result. They have to be available every day, even during holidays in order to be able to deal with any potential problems of their patient as soon as possible, because if some of these problems are not solved on due time, they would result in disastrous consequences. Thus, they have to respond to their patients whether when they are working in their office or when they are resting in their home, so managing this time schedule is very difficult.

High Costs of Dentistry Another Stressful Factor for Dentists

Without a doubt, it’s true that dentistry is considered as one of the most profitable jobs among medical and paramedical fields, but there are heft costs. Going back to stress, dentists once again have to calculate each purchase of items whether it’s a couch or a machine. The dram goal is to be able to launch an equipped dentistry office not only cost effective, but it needs spending back-breaking costs. On average, 70% of the cash dentists gain from patients go directly into treatment expenses. A fun fact, would be all the money we would pay in a single session for bleaching or for filling belongs to our dentist, is false.

On the other hand, dentists have to pay salaries of their employees and assistants, insurance premiums, taxes and most importantly the costs of maintaining their office. The cost of maintenance and repairing equipment and devices, preparing instruments and consumables of orthodontics and dentistry is immensely high.

The Increased Occupational Competitions Among Dentists

In the current and evolved world of dentistry, due to the new machinery, dentistry has expanded considerably and we face more diverse expectations from patients. It, in turn, has provoked and spiked the competition and rivalry amongst dentists and orthodontists. It’s also why, when researching articles about the problems, in detail with costs, there are no results. Here’s a quick answer about that. In spite of all the problems we mentioned already in this article, if every single one was added with detail a dentist fails to upgrade themselves and to propose diverse services. Leading to a certain loss within the market, and a rapid patient decrease throughout the near-future.

Taking advantage of state-of-the-art equipment and providing various services which are considered as new criteria of defining beauty in the modern era, supplying costs, finding new patients and keeping the former ones are only some of the issues a dentist needs to deal with them, continuously. It is a costly process, which per se can be very stressful for the dentists.

Damages Caused by Infecting with Infectious Diseases in Dentists

Another occupational injury for dentists is their exposure to people who suffer from infectious diseases. It was felt more seriously during covid-19 years. Besides covid, other diseases such as syphilis, AIDS, and various types of hepatitis including Hepatitis A constitute major concerns of dentists. Such diseases both can be transferred to the dentist and to the next patient if the sanitary protocols and standards are not met properly.

Blood, saliva and exhalation of patients may transfer these viruses easily. To make matters worse, since patients need to open their mouth continuously, along with bleeding, the chance of contracting these diseases will be increased several times for dentists. It also can threaten the dentist with the serious risks in suffering from infectious diseases.

Physical Injuries Caused by Dentists’ Body Condition During Working

Although dentistry is one of the most popular academic fields, do not forget that their health condition is seriously influenced by the occupational injuries. Along with that,injuries as such would be followed with serious problems for them. They may seem to be sitting on a chair, but the body position in which they work is terribly uncomfortable and very tiresome. These include: holding hands for long time without resting them on a hand rest, the certain status of feet in longtime would bring about serious problems, and dozens more. Another effect, which has caused severe injuries is the following example. To prevent any sudden movement of patient’s hand and any potential risk for them, dentists have to impose pressure on their backbone. As a result, most dentists suffer from shoulder pain, herniated disc, chronic backache, knee disorders and overweight.