Introduction
Oral health is the most integral contributor to the systemic or general health of an individual. Over the decades, researchers, as well as nutrition experts, have explored the importance of oral health and dental follow-ups with the dentist as an important indicator that determines the individual overall quality of life. The mouth is a pivotal part of the human immune system, and hence, it acts as a passage or carrier for numerous microbial pathogens to enter the system, when its immunity gets breached due to poor oral hygiene.
For industrial workers who are exposed to occupational hazards, the risk of oral cavity diseases leading up to systemic diseases is even higher not only because of the nature of their work or due to a lack of oral health awareness but also due to the exposure to industrial agents that eventually result in a vicious cycle of oro-systemic infections or diseases by entry or infection with pathogens. In a hazardous environment, daily exposure to industrial workers, especially individuals working for long hours, has been proportionally associated with a high prevalence of oral detrimental habits and poor oral hygiene.
Why Are Industrial Workers High-Risk Groups for Oral Diseases?
-
Industrial growth is occurring throughout the globe, especially in developing countries, at an exponential pace as per current statistics in medical research regarding occupational hazards.
-
Also, to achieve unimpeded growth, even on a global basis, millions of industrial workers are recruited in large-scale industries. This industrial revolution which has been characterized by its division, or different sectors of industries, requires that the industrial workers or laborers are also appropriately trained in accordance.
-
For instance, in the case of acid factory workers, they can be easily victimized by the nature of their work throughout the day, which leads to a detrimental impact on oral and systemic health.
-
Similarly, uneducated laborers who work almost day and night in industrial settings or factories, because of a complete lack of oral hygiene, dental attrition or regressive alterations of teeth with subsequent lack of masticatory efficiency or movements, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues or oral mucosal lesions, and pre-cancers are common observances. This is the reason why industrial workers are at great risk of acquiring systemic diseases or are at a comparatively higher health risk than the general population because of the occupational hazards posed in large-scale industries.
-
Though the governments of different countries have undertaken various labor laws, schemes, as well as policies to limit the growing health concerns and risks associated with occupational hazards, current medical statistics, show that very little attention is being paid to the oral health of industrial workers or laborers throughout the globe. The awareness regarding their oral health and hygiene is less in these high-risk groups which can increase their risk of dental diseases such as dental erosion (loss of tooth surface), dental caries, regressive alterations of teeth, periodontal disease (gum infections), subsequently tooth mobility or displacement, gene mutations by the risk of exposure to certain chemicals or even oral pre-cancers and cancers.
What Are the Research-Based Evidence and Statistics Related to Oral Health Issues in Industrial Workers?
-
Major global research studies indicate that nearly 82.4 percent of subjects or industrial laborers do not have the habit of cleaning or brushing their teeth daily.
-
Similarly, according to the research evaluation by Sanadhya et al., the oral health status of salt workers showed that these workers had both dental fluorosis and dental caries because of their daily exposure to agents or materials encountered in this industry.
-
According to another major research study by Kiran Kumar et al., the psychiatric morbidity rise in industrial workers is associated with detrimental oral habits such as tobacco chewing or alcohol consumption. This would be attributed to the physically tedious nature of industrial work that may be a risk factor for psychologically driving people to consume alcohol and tobacco, the direct risk factors for developing nicotine dependence, fungal infections, oral pre-cancers, and cancers. According to the study by Kumar et al, nicotine dependence is one of the major diagnoses among nearly 27.7 percent of industrial workers followed by alcohol abuse at 12.3 percent.
-
Major research studies have also focused on the high risk of dental erosion in large-scale industrial workers. Dental erosion is a process occurring because of the loss of tooth enamel by simple chemical wear-out from acid exposure. It is one of the highest among industrial workers. Industrial environmental factors, such as exposure to sulfuric acid mists, are some of the harmful industrial processes that result directly in the loss or wear out of tooth enamel.
-
According to the reports presented by Gomes (1972) of the Brazilian state workers in the electroplating industry, almost 50 percent of the 223 workers either had yellowing of teeth or dental erosion, with the duration or exposure of time being unclear or elusive for the dental erosion to occur. Similar results were detected in enamel wearout and loss in industrial workers exposed to chromium.
-
Globally, randomized and large-scale research studies have concluded that periodontal disease is the most common form of oral disease in industrial workers exposed to acid mists, in metal processing factories, or in industrial areas where there is exposure of individuals to acid mists that are a combination of sulfuric and chlorhydric acid. This has been attributed to the gradual intracellular and extracellular changes of pH (potential of hydrogen) occurring in the oral microbiome over time, on exposure to these chemicals, resulting in the entry of periodontal pathogens and lowered oral immunity.
What Is the Need for Oral Health Awareness and Prevention of Disease?
Many large-scale industries ensure globally that their workers are trained and educated to tackle the occupational hazards related to their daily work. However, major research studies still show that oral health awareness and the importance of dental health and its link to systemic health are ignored by many industrial workers. Hence, there is a greater need currently for global oral health awareness, oral health awareness programs, group discussions, and coordinated teamwork to diagnose oral and dental lesions by dental professionals in industrial workers, dealing with occupational hazards. Apart from mass media awareness and health promotion, training programs should be implemented for educating industrial workers by dental professionals, local factory authorities, voluntary organizations, and government health schemes. The use of personal protective equipment, goggles, mouth masks, efficient ventilation at work sites, and guidelines for preventing the detrimental impact of acid mists or fumes in most industries should be mandatory for workers to protect their oro-systemic health.
Conclusion
The research and studies carried out across the globe in different sectors of industries, wherein major surveys indicate that industrial workers tend to ignore their oral health status mostly, not only because of a lack of awareness but also because of the nature of the occupational hazards or chemicals or industrial agents or materials they are dealing with in the course of a day. Therefore, it is the need of an hour that global organizations dedicated to these issues faced by workers, due to occupational hazards, come together to create awareness of these industrial workers to improve their quality of life.
