Patch test results in dental staff with dermatitis.

Background: Dental workers are exposed to allergenic materials in the workplace.

Objectives: To summarize patch test results in dental staff with work-related dermatitis.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study of dental staff with dermatitis was conducted. Symptoms, clinical findings and results from patch tests with 40 dental allergens were summarized.

Results: Of 329 participants, 155 (47.1%) had at least one positive patch reaction. The highest frequency of positive reactions was observed for metals (38.6%), acrylics (7.3%) and additives in acrylic resins (3.6%). One hundred and eighty-five (56.2%) participants were currently symptomatic; in this group, 79 (42.7%) had current dermatitis. Thirty-eight patients had at least one positive patch test considered occupationally related to their current dermatitis.

Conclusion: Almost half of the dental staff with dermatitis had at least one positive patch test and approximately 12% had current occupational relevance of the allergens. Our results underscore the importance of patch testing in the evaluation of dental staff with dermatitis.