The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is concerned that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may impose ergonomics regulations affecting dental practices, according to a statement on its Web site.
OSHA requires large employers to track workplace injuries, and until 2003 it included musculoskeletal problems such as injuries from repetitive motion. At the end of former President Bill Clinton's administration, OSHA issued rules to reduce such injuries. But before the rules could be enforced, they were eliminated by the then-Republican-controlled Congress.
AGD supported eliminating the rules, and during President George W. Bush's administration, OSHA stopped collecting information on musculoskeletal problems.
Now OSHA wants to track such injuries once again, leading the AGD to worry that the agency -- now controlled by a Democratic administration -- will issue new regulations aimed at reducing musculoskeletal problems by setting ergonomics standards. Many labor groups support such a move, while many business groups oppose them.
Dental practices would not have to collect information on this type of injury, but they would be subject to the regulations OSHA proposed in 2001. "The AGD will remain vigilant in tracking OSHA's efforts and working with its partners to again counter the creation of an unnecessary ergonomics standard," the organization said.
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