Prevention of Occupational Hazards Due to Asbestos Exposure in Dentistry. A Proposal from a Panel of Experts

Our plain-English summary of Prevention of Occupational Hazards Due to Asbestos Exposure in Dentistry. A Proposal from a Panel of Experts, by C. Anaya-Aguilar, M. Bravo, A. Magan-Fernandez, et al (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022).

The study

• Authors: C. Anaya-Aguilar, M. Bravo, A. Magan-Fernandez, R. Del Castillo-Salmerón, A. Rodríguez-Archilla, J. Montero, E. Rosel, P. Puche, R. Anaya-Aguilar
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Published: 2022;19(6)
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Asbestos in all its forms is a Group 1 material agent with proven carcinogenic effects in the human being since 1977. Exposure to asbestos can be considered unsafe. The use of asbestos in the field of dentistry had a common use in the manufacture of dental prostheses in the 1960s and 1970s. Taking into account the long induction period of this agent and the plausibility for being a risk factor in dentistry, the objective of this study is to propose a plan for the prevention of occupational risks due to asbestos exposure in dentistry by means of the contribution of a panel of experts. An Expert Panel (EP) approach was used in which a group of nine experts identified and documented the use of asbestos in the dental profession. EP was created and followed the protocol in accordance with the EuropeAid Assessment Guidelines. As a result of this study, EP documented the common use and sources of asbestos in dentistry in prosthetic materials, dental dressings, and in the coating of casting cylinders. EP also created a consensus document on the priority measures for the Plan for the Prevention of Risks from Asbestos in Dentistry, based on previous reports from the European Commission Senior Labour Inspectors' Committee. The document concluded that obtainment of information, receiving specific training on the subject and performing epidemiological studies, and the proper risk assessments were the priority measures to adopt.

In plain English

This article reported the work of an expert panel in Spain. Between 2020 and 2021, nine experts followed the European Commission's EuropeAid Assessment Guidelines to propose a plan for preventing occupational risks from asbestos exposure in dentistry. At the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Granada and its museum, the panel identified instruments that could have contained asbestos, mainly casting cylinders and the liners used in casting metal. The panel stated that dental professionals may have been exposed at various stages of handling these instruments and of casting, including the asbestos lining of the crucible. Drawing on a European Commission good-practice guide on asbestos, the panel pre-selected 24 ideas, and each expert chose 10 by email. All nine experts supported having information on whether materials contain asbestos and knowing what to do on encountering such materials. Eight supported learning to recognize such products and conducting epidemiological studies in the dental profession. The authors concluded that the profession should be informed and trained about possible past exposure, and that a prevention plan should start with epidemiological studies and risk assessment.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Expert panel consensus exercise following the EuropeAid Assessment Guidelines. Experts pre-selected 24 candidate preventive measures, and each expert voted by email for the 10 they considered most relevant. The panel also inspected and photographed historical dental instruments.
• Who was studied: A panel of 9 experts in Spain (authors' affiliations include the Universities of Granada, Málaga and Salamanca), working from November 2020 to July 2021. Instruments were examined at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Granada and its museum.
• Exposure: Asbestos in dental instruments and techniques, chiefly the liners of casting cylinders used to cast metal prostheses and the asbestos lining of crucibles. The article does not state which fiber type was used in these materials.
• Main results:
  • The panel stated that dental professionals may have been exposed to asbestos at various stages of handling the instruments and of casting. Stages listed include placing asbestos strips in cylinders, using the asbestos lining of the crucible, finishing and polishing, and disposal in garbage.
  • All 9 experts (9 points each) supported having the necessary information to know whether materials contain asbestos, and knowing what to do on encountering asbestos-containing materials.
  • 8 of the 9 experts supported knowing how to recognize products that may contain asbestos.
  • 8 of the 9 experts supported conducting specific epidemiological studies in the dental profession in relation to asbestos.
  • Use of appropriate protective equipment received 7 points.
  • Including the dental profession in the tables of professions with asbestos exposures received 5 points. Following best practice when disposing of asbestos-containing waste received the lowest score shown, 3 points.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the dental profession should be informed and trained about the possible risk of past asbestos exposure. They called for a prevention plan starting with adequate epidemiological studies and risk assessment, and for the dental sector to be included in lists of professions with asbestos exposure.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Carcinogenic.

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