Oral health status of industrial workers included in Corporate Oral Health Program

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the oral health status of workers in five industries of the metropolitan region of Salvador, included in the Corporate Occupational Oral Health Program (PSBE) between 2003 and 2008.

Methods: a retrospective cross-sectional study with secondary data from SESI/DR-BA database. All workers who had at least two dental examinations in the period (1,277 workers) were included. Sociodemographic data, incidence of dental caries, dental caries activity, dental emergency, and the use and need of prostheses were investigated.

Results: most patients were male with mean age of 38 ± 10.07 years. Mean DMFT ranged from 15 to 19, with higher percentage of filled teeth (58.5% to 70.2%). The incidence of dental caries was lower in individuals who had a greater number of examinations – 35.03% for two examinations and 21.88% for four examinations (p<0.01). A positive association was found between caries activity and certain professional occupations, like metalworkers (29.19%). Highest percentages of urgency were found in individuals working in “other services” (5.60% in 2007 and 8.40% in 2008).

Conclusion: the reduction in incidence of dental caries and need of prostheses among those who performed more examinations indicate that corporate oral health programs can contribute to improve workers oral health.

Keywords:
oral health; occupational health; epidemiology; DMFT index; industry