소아치과 진료실에서 발생하는 소음 평가 = THE ASSESSMENT OF NOISE IN THE PEDIATRIC DENTAL CLINICS

국문 초록 (Abstract)

치과의사는 감염, 알레르기, 시력장애 등 다양한 직업적 위험에 노출되어 있으며, 그 중에서도 비교적 최근 들어 새롭게 제기된 문제가 청력손상이다. 치과 진료실에서 발생하는 소음이 작업장 소음 기준을 초과한다는 조사 결과가 발표된 바 있고, 특히 소아치과 의사는 각종 치과 소음에 더하여 어린이의 울음소리라는 부가적 소음원에도 일상적으로 노출되고 있다. 본 연구는 소아치과 의사에게 영향을 미칠 수 있는 소음 환경에 대해 조사하고, 이에 따른 청력 손상 가능성을 고찰해 볼 목적으로 시행되었다. 휴대용 소음계를 이용하여, 각종 치과용 기구, 어린이의 울음소리, 양자가 동시에 발생할 때의 소음 크기를 각각 측정하고, 소아치과 의사가 소음 환경에 노출되는 시간을 설문을 통해 조사하였다. 이 결과를 National Institute for Safety and Health(NIOSH) 및 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)의 소음 역치 기준, CRA News letter의 청력 손상을 유발하는 소음 기준과 각각 비교하였다. 그 결과, 소아치과 의사가 노출된 소음 환경은, 강도와 노출 시간을 고려했을 때 허용된 작업장 소음 기준을 초과하며, 어린이의 울음소리는 한 번의 노출로도 영구적 청력 손상을 야기할 수 있는 수준으로 나타났다. 따라서 일반 치과의사와 비교하여 소아치과 의사는 직업적 청력 손상의 위험성이 더 높으며, 이를 최소화하기 위한 적극적인 대책이 필요하다는 결론을 내릴 수 있었다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Dental professionals are exposed to various occupational risks, among which the problem of hearing damage has been newly revealed. There have been some researches reporting that noise occurring in a dental office exceeds the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Standards. Especially, the pediatric dentists are repeatedly exposed to an additional noise source called the crying sound of children in addition to all kinds of noises from dental instruments. Accordingly, this study intended to investigate the noise environment likely to affect pediatric dentists and to examine the possibility of resultant hearing damages. The level of noise was measured respectively, when various dental instruments (ultrasonic scaler, high-speed handpiece, low-speed handpiece) are operated, when children are crying, and when both occasions take place simultaneously (from the distance of 30 cm) with a portable noise meter. And the daily duration of pediatric dentists exposed to the noise environment was surveyed. The results were compared with the standard value of noise threshold of NIOSH, OSHA, and that of hearing damage of CRA News letter respectively. Considering the intensity and exposure time, the noise environment of pediatric dentists exceeds the allowable noise threshold values. Even only one exposure to crying child was likely to lead to permanent hearing damage. Comparatively, pediatric dentists have a higher risk for occupational hearing damages, and some active measures are thought highly desirable to minimize it.

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