Report: Dental Laboratory Workers at Risk for Silicosis

Researchers have identified several cases of silicosis in an occupational group better known for drilling teeth than quarry rock.

According to a report published this month in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, dental laboratory technicians in at least five states were diagnosed with silicosis between 1994 and 2000.

'Although crystalline silica exposure and silicosis have been associated historically with work in mining, quarrying, sandblasting, masonry, founding and ceramics, certain materials and processes used in dental laboratories also place technicians at risk for silicosis,' the report stated. photo-1 The article follows an analysis of …