Work Characteristics and Needlestick-Injury Status of Dental Hygienists
Yeon-Soon Park1 
, Jeong-Hyun Lee2 , Jin-Soo Kim3 , Kyoung-Ok Yun3 , and Sung-Suk Bae1,†
, Jeong-Hyun Lee2 , Jin-Soo Kim3 , Kyoung-Ok Yun3 , and Sung-Suk Bae1,† 1Department of Dental Hygiene, Hanseo University, Seosan 31962, 2Department of Oral Anatomy, Dental College of Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, 3Department of Dental Hygiene, Shinsung University, Dangjin 31801, Korea
Correspondence to: †Sung-Suk Bae, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4338-0915
Department of Dental Hygiene, Hanseo University, 46 Hanseo 1-ro, Haemi-Myun, Seosan 31962, Korea
Tel: +82-41-660-1573, Fax: +82-41-660-1579, E-mail: ssbae@hanseo.ac.kr
Department of Dental Hygiene, Hanseo University, 46 Hanseo 1-ro, Haemi-Myun, Seosan 31962, Korea
Tel: +82-41-660-1573, Fax: +82-41-660-1579, E-mail: ssbae@hanseo.ac.kr
Received August 21, 2024; Revised September 9, 2024; Accepted September 13, 2024.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Abstract
- Background: Dental hygienists have a significant risk of infection due to occupational injuries caused by needles and sharp instruments. This study aimed to evaluate the current status of needle and “sharp-instrument injuries” among dental hygienists and to propose improved preventive guidelines.
Methods: A total of 251 dental hygienists completed an online survey between August 1, 2023 and September 2, 2023. Data from 245 respondents were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20, using independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance to assess the frequency of injuries and their correlation with job characteristics.
Results: Among the 251 dental hygienists, 77.6% had experienced needle or sharp-instrument injuries, with an average of 4.97 incidents per person. Infection prevention education significantly reduced the number of injuries, and participants with education exhibited better infection control practices than those without. Most injuries occurred during “instrument cleaning or maintenance” and “anesthesia preparation or disposal,” with “scalers, probes, and curettes” being the main culprits. Hands were the most frequently injured body parts.
Conclusion: Preventive measures, continuous education, and improved guidelines are required to create a safer dental working environment. - Keywords : Dental hygienists, Needlestick injuries, Occupational exposure, Prevention and control, Sharps injury
- September 2024, 24 (3)
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Author ORCID Information-
- Yeon-Soon Park
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6625-998X - Jeong-Hyun Lee
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8358-8679 - Jin-Soo Kim
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4547-0922 - Kyoung-Ok Yun
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7976-1810 - Sung-Suk Bae
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4338-0915
