It is important to address the oral health and well being of employees because oral issues in the office, whether it is a minor toothache or a major dental problem, can account to poor productivity, absenteeism and even poor retention of employees. 🛌
In OSH standard, hazardous offices with 100-199 employees or non-hazardous offices with 200-600 employees must deploy a part-time dentist who will stay at least 4 hours during the operation hours which have the biggest number of employees.
For example, if the company is in BPO industry and its shift which has the biggest number of employees is at night, then its dentists must stay in its premises during its night shift as well. 🦉
Larger scale offices must need a full time dentist who should stay during the shift which also has the biggest number of worker.
Qualifications
A dentist, whether part-time or full-time, must have the following qualifications:
• passed the examination given by the Board of Examiners for Dentists
• licensed to practice dentistry in the Philippines
• completed a basic training course in occupational dentistry, conducted by the Bureau of Dental Health Services of the Department of Health or any organization duly accredited by the same.
Currently, the University of the Philippines, College of Public Health conducts the Basic training course (BOSH) for both dentists and physicians.
It is a 40-hour basic course that aims to enable the participants to understand the standards and regulations specific to their work plan, implement and evaluate oral health programs for their workplace, recognize and manage occupational hazards of importance to oral health and implement an information system based on the DOH standards.
This training for dentists who are currently employed or planning to start a career in Occupational Health, will help them and even the management to appreciate their role in workplace.
Their dental health services in the workplace, such as a comprehensive oral checkup will contribute to helping employees in their dental hygiene routine.
They will also be the leaders, in coordination with the OSH committee, in health programs that will prevent, control or manage occupational hazards and diseases that will compromise the dental health of the employees.
In conclusion, having them in the OSH team, the company can succeed in maintaining an excellent oral health for their employees.
Special thanks to Dr. Kathy Santillan who has shared her knowledge about the BOSH trainings for dentists.
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