3/2007Color-vision deficiency in dental students

MAGDALENA GIBAS (Katedra i Zakład Fizjologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu;Kierownik: prof. dr hab. med. Janusz Paluszak)

Background
Poor color vision is an inability that rarely occurs in population, but its diagnosis plays role in candidate recruitment for some of the occupations. The disorder is also observed in doctors and dentists, yet there have been few studies describing color vision deficiency in medical profession.

Material and methods
72 dental students (46 men and 26 women) were asked to complete a questionnaire. They answered the questions about screening for color-defective vision in the past (also during recruitment period for medical education). For color vision examination, students were tested using Wilczek lamp and Ishihara plates. The plates were held 75 cm from the subjects. The time for an answer was less than 3 seconds.

Results
17% of students confirmed their attendance in color vision testing in the past. None of subjects was examined during recruitment period to the University of Medical Sciences. In our study four of male students were recognized to be color deficient. All of them exhibited deuteranomaly.

Key words: color vision defects, students, dentistry