healthbrief

Overtime Hours Linked to Tooth Decay

Connection to Oral Health Decline

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Researchers from the Tokyo Dental College, in Japan, have discovered a link between excessive overtime work and oral health by comparing overtime hours worked per month with the rate of untreated tooth decay. Of 951 financial workers studied, 13 percent of the men with no overtime hours reported tooth decay, while 19 percent of those working up to 45 hours of overtime per month did.

This increased to 27 percent for those working 45 to 80 extra hours per month and exceeded 31 percent for those logging more than 80.

Workers with the most overtime hours were more likely to list “too busy with work” as their reason for leaving decayed teeth untreated. The results came after adjusting for differences in age, education, smoking, snacking, dental visits and oral hygiene.