Level of silica in the respirable dust inhaled by dental technicians with demonstration of respirable symptoms.

Dental technicians are exposed to various dusts in working laboratories. This study was conducted to measure level of silica in the respirable dust generated from dental fixed prosthodontics manufacturing processes using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and to compare their occurrence of respiratory symptoms with that of non-dental hospital workers (control group). Respirable dusts were personally sampled from dental technicians working at dental laboratories in Seoul Korea according to NIOSH Method 0600. Fifty personal samples were obtained during porcelain or polishing process and weighed by a gravimetric method. Concentration of respirable dust was 651 +/- 548 microg/m3 (Mean +/- SD) with highest concentration of 2,874 microg/m3 during the porcelain process and 725 +/- 414 microg/m3 with highest concentration of 1,764 microg/m3 during the polishing process. Concentration of silica was 6.51 +/- 6.07 microg/m3 with 18.85 microg/m3 highest and 14.88 +/- 11.21 microg/m3 with 50.98 microg/m3 highest for the porcelain and polishing process, respectively. Level of silica contents in the dust was 0.81% and 1.66% for the porcelain and polishing process, respectively. The level of silica contents and silica concentration were significantly different between the two processes. Comparing prevalence of respiratory symptoms between non-smoking seventeen dental technicians and thirty-five control workers, wheezing and rhinorrhea were significantly more manifested in the dental technicians than the controls. Total frequency of respiratory symptoms was also significantly higher in the dental technicians than the controls.