Rising trend of workplace oral health examination.

Dear Editor Shimazaki et al. analyzed oral health examination findings for 4,484 male and female employees aged 35 to 74 in relation to past participation in oral health examinations reported in a questionnaire1) and concluded that workplace oral health examination accompanied by oral health instruction may be effective for maintenance of periodontal health. We think this is an important publication; however, the following issues need to be addressed. Firstly, the job profile of the employees at the workplace (company) where oral health examination was carried out needs to be mentioned. The information is paramount to understanding whether the work directly or indirectly affected oral health of the employee2, 3). Secondly, interexaminer reliability should have been calculated for the dentists performing the periodontal examination and dental hygienists delivering the oral health instructions4). The glaring difference between employees undergoing workplace oral health examination (36.8%) and workplace general health examination needs to be significantly narrowed. It has been reported previously that the role of home dentists is not preventive oriented; hence, it is necessary to provide regular oral health examination and health promotion programs for the adult population in the workplace in Japan. Also, in conformity to the present study, an oral health awareness campaign was carried out in four workplaces in north-east London in which gingival bleeding on probing (BOP) and probing depths (PD) were measured using a controlled pressure probe5). The results showed the mean percentage of sites probing 4 mm and above per subject reduced from 38 to 25% in the test group. This confirmed the clinical effectiveness of a workplace-based oral health awareness campaign. Hence, the dissemination of the idea of workplace oral health examination including oral health instruction may affect oral health beneficially and enhance oral health quality of life. Thanking you.