Prevalence of type I natural rubber latex allergy among dental hygienists.

Purpose: Oral health care professionals have been shown to be at risk for developing a type I allergy to natural rubber latex (NRL). The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of this allergy in dental hygienists.

Methods: Participants attending the 2000-2002 American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) national meetings were screened for type I allergies to NRL using skin prick testing, symptom assessment, and health history.

Occupation-related allergies in dentistry.

Background: Allergies to natural rubber latex (NRL) were unknown in dentistry until 1987. That changed with the publication of a report documenting NRL-based anaphylaxis in a dental worker. This case and others prompted regulatory and manufacturing changes in rubber products and increased awareness throughout the profession.

Prevalence of upper extremity symptoms and disorders among dental and dental hygiene students.

Context: Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders are common among dental professionals. The natural history of these disorders is not well-understood. These disorders are more common in older workers, but the prevalence among younger workers has not been well-studied.

Occupational allergens in dentistry.

Purpose Of Review: Dental professionals and their physicians frequently do not recognize, accurately diagnose or appropriately manage occupational allergies. Dental allergen identification, diagnostics and practical avoidance strategies are summarized in this review.

Recent Findings: Methacrylates, natural rubber latex proteins, rubber glove allergens, and glutaraldehyde are the predominant allergens in dentistry.

Allergic contact dermatitis in dental professionals: effective diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Like other health care workers, dental professionals are at risk of developing allergic contact dermatitis, or ACD, after exposure to allergenic chemicals. Common allergens include antimicrobials, preservatives, rubber additives and methacrylates.

Case Description: The authors describe an orthodontic assistant with severe skin disease, whose symptoms included redness, cracking and bleeding that persisted for 10 years.

Management of dental patients with allergies to natural rubber latex.

Reports of serious allergic reaction to natural rubber latex (NRL) are not uncommon in dentistry. The prevalence of Type I allergies in high-risk patient groups can range as high as 17% for health care professionals and over 50% in patients with spina bifida. A Type IV allergy to NRL chemical additives, also known as allergic contact dermatitis, is common in health care professions.

Developmental expression of heme oxygenase in the rat lung.

Heme oxygenase (HO), the rate-limiting enzyme in the formation of bilirubin, is expressed in the lung and may serve as an antioxidant. This enzyme results in the formation of antioxidant bile pigments and the degradation of pro-oxidant heme. We wanted to evaluate the differences in expression of HO-1, the inducible form, and HO-2, the constitutive isoenzyme, during lung maturation and document whether lung HO expression was similar to that of other antioxidant enzymes.

Cross-reactivity between gutta-percha and natural rubber latex: assumptions vs. reality.

Background: Immunological cross-reactivity between gutta-percha and natural rubber latex, or NRL, has not been demonstrated clearly despite recent concerns and several suspected cases reported in the literature.

Methods: The authors analyzed aqueous extracts of commercial gutta-percha points and raw gutta-percha samples for cross-reactivity to NRL by radioallergosorbent test, or RAST, inhibition; immunoblot inhibition; direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA; and ELISA inhibition using sera from NRL-allergic people as the source of anti-NRL immunoglobulin E, or IgE, antibodies. To confirm in vitro results, the authors conducted skin prick testing, or SPT, on a patient with type I NRL allergy using aqueous extracts from raw gutta-percha, ammoniated gutta-percha and gutta-percha points.

Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and upper extremity tendinitis among dental hygienists.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and upper extremity (UE) tendinitis among dental hygienists.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study dental hygienists (n = 305) were screened using sensory nerve conduction, a focused physical examination of the UE, and a symptom questionnaire. CTS was diagnosed if the subject had slowing of the median nerve at the wrist and symptoms of numbness, tingling of pain in the median distribution.