Do dentists have the most dangerous job in America?


According to an article in the Business Insider it is the #1 dangerous job. This was assessed based on dentists and staffs exposure to hazardous contaminants, Exposure to diseases and infections and time spent sitting. I really can't agree with this conclusion. Yes we are exposed to contaminants but we wear gloves and masks and glasses so if we are prudent we are protected. I am fairly old school and I often forgo wearing a mask and I don't find that I spend much down time from illness.

We do spend a great deal of time sitting but sit down dentistry is clearly healthier than "stand up"dentistry was. We seem to walk around alot between treatment rooms, and the business offices and I suspect we get more exercise than the average clerical worker who spends most of their day seated and looking at a computer.

We do suffer from muscular skeletal disorders due to all the bending and twisting we subject our bodies to and most elderly dentists have a bad back and neck as well. That being said most of us finish work by 6 most days and theoretically have time for physical fitness activities.

Most dentists do not retire by 65 and are relatively in good shape compared to similarly aged members of our population. Due to our position as a healthcare provider we are familiar with benefits of treating ailments. Almost all dentists I know maintain good health insurance policies  and most see physicians to achieve early diagnosis and treatments for our ailments.

I believe that  dentists are real healthcare "heroes" but  I really can't conclude that our profession is a highly dangerous profession, especially if a little care is taken when we are administering our treatments to our patients. After all we are taught to practice uniform precautions for all patients, whether they are diagnosed or not with a communicable disease.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/05/do-dentists-have-most-dangerous-job-in.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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