status of occupational hazards and their prevention among dental professionals in chandigarh, india: a comprehensive questionnaire survey

background: to assess the status of occupational hazards and their prevention among the practicing dentists in chandigarh city, india. materials and methods: a closed-ended questionnaire was prepared to record demographic status, types of occupational hazards encountered, and status of measures used for their prevention. a total 113 out of 130 dentists completed the questionnaire and the response rate was 86.9%. frequency tables were prepared and coefficient of correlation was computed to check correlation between different variables. statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. results: the most common occupational hazard reported was injury from “sharps” (77%), out of which needle prick injury was the most frequent. of the other occupational problems job related stress (43.3%), musculoskeletal problems (39.8%), and allergies (23.8%) from things used in dental clinics were most common. a reasonably high percentage of dentists were immunized against hepatitis-b virus (88.4%) and were following proper infection control measures and hospital waste disposal methods. very few dentists were following the correct method of disposal of excess amalgam (11%) and measurement of radiation exposure (27.5%) within their clinic. most of them (90.2%) were satisfied with their current working hours and job. conclusion: prevalence of occupational hazards among the studied group was high and certain preventive measures were not being followed properly. therefore, there is a need to improve the knowledge of dentists regarding these hazards and their prevention. key words: chandigarh, dentists, india, musculoskeletal problems, needle prick injury, occupational hazards, questionnaire