The association between restorative pre-clinical activities and musculoskeletal disorders

Objective: To evaluate the risk of development of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs of undergraduate dentistry students during the execution of pre-clinical laboratory activities based on gender, type of dental procedure and area of the mouth under treatment.Methods: Male and female undergraduate students in the second year of the Araraquara Dental School, UNESP, were enrolled in this study. Digital photographs were obtained whilst the subjects performed laboratory activities. The working postures adopted by each student were evaluated using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). The photos were analysed by a calibrated researcher (k = 0.89), and a final risk score was attributed to each analysed procedure (n = 354). Descriptive statistical analyses were performed, and the associations of interest were analysed by the chisquare test (P = 0.05).Results: During most of the laboratory procedures performed, the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders was high (64.7%; - IC95%: 59.7-69.7%), with no significant association between the RULA final score and gender (chi(2) = 1.100; P = 0.577), type of dental procedure (chi(2) = 5.447, P = 0.244) and mouth area treated (chi(2) = 4.150; P = 0.126).Conclusions: The risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders was high in undergraduate dentistry students; this risk was not related to gender, type of dental procedure and region of the mouth being treated.

Musculoskeletal disorders in upper limbs in dental students: exposure level to risk factors

Aim: This study assessed the risk factors of undergraduate students to develop musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the upper limbs, regarding gender, type of dental clinical procedure, mouth region treated, and the four-handed dentistry practice. Methods: Dental students enrolled in the 8th semester in the Araraquara School of Dentistry, UNESP, Brazil, were photographed while practicing 283 dental procedures. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method was used to evaluate the working postures of each student. The photographs were evaluated and a final risk score was attributed to each analyzed procedure. The prevalence of risk factors of developing MSD was estimated by point and by 95% confidence interval. The association between the risk factor of developing disorders and variables of interest were assessed by the chi-square test with a significance level of 5%. Results: The risk factors of developing MSD were high, regarding most dental procedures performed by the undergraduate students (score 5: 7.07%, CI95%: 4.08- 10.06%; score 6: 62.54%, CI95%: 56.90-68.18%). There was no significant association between the RULA final score and gender (p=0.559), and type of dental procedure (p=0.205), and mouth regions by arch (p=0.110) or hemi-arch (p=0.560), and the use of four-handed dentistry (p=0.366). Conclusions: It can be concluded that gender, type of dental clinical procedure, mouth region treated, and practice of four-handed dentistry did not influence the risk of developing MSD in the upper limbs among the dental students evaluated; however, they are at a high risk of developing such disorders.

Métodos de avaliação de risco de desordens músculo-esqueléticas nos membros superiores voltados para a odontologia

The dental professionals are exposed to many risks of development of occupational diseases and the musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs are the most common disease. This problem may result in lower productivity and / or early retirement. Therefore, early diagnosis should be done through a reliable and valid system of risk assessment. Because of that, this study set out to conduct a review of the literature on methods of risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs in dental professionals. Conclusion: It was concluded that the available methods for assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry are self-reports, observational and direct. Among these methods, the self-reports were frequently used to detect the risk of musculoskeletal disorders among dentists, dental students and professionals from the dental team. Further studies should be performed in dentistry using observational and direct methods.

Risk of musculoskeletal disorders in upper limbs in dental students: concordance of different methods for estimation of body angle

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the agreement among different methods used to estimate angular deviation of the body to determine the risk for development of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry undergraduates. Materials and Methods: Students (n = 79) enrolled in the final year undergraduate course of the Araraquara School of Dentistry-Sγo Paulo State University-UNESP were evaluated. Photographs were taken of students performing clinical procedures. The work postures adopted by each student were evaluated by means of rapid upper limb assessment (RULA). The basis used to obtain the individual's final risk score is the measurement of the angular deviations in the neutral positions of the regions evaluated. Two methods were used to estimate the angular deviation of the body: Visual exam and Image Tool software. A RULA final risk score was attributed to each procedure the student performed (n = 333). Study of the agreement between the methods about risk of musculoskeletal disorders was conducted by means of Kappa (κ) statistics. The level of significance adopted was 5%. Results: Fair agreement (κ = 0.32) between the evaluated methods was verified. Conclusion: The risk for development of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders by dentistry undergraduates evaluated by using RULA was not in agreement with the results obtained by use of visual exam and Image Tool.

Perception of Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Brazilian Dental Students

The aim of this study was to compare the mean scores of perceived risk factors for the development of musculoskeletal disorders in dental students presently pursuing work/study, according to gender, course series, and the presence of pain/discomfort. The participants were 348 students from the undergraduate course in dentistry at a Brazilian public university. The instrument on work-related factors that could contribute to osteomuscular symptoms and part of the Nordic questionnaire were used. The psychometric properties of the first instrument were estimated. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that the instrument had a tri-factorial structure (s2 retained: 62.72 percent). The retained factors were repetitiveness, work posture, and external factors. The internal consistency and reproducibility were adequate (α=0.746 to 0.873; p=0.729 to 0.940). Lower mean scores of perceived external factors were observed for the male participants, as well as lower scores in the three dimensions of the instrument for first-year students of the course and for those who did not report pain/discomfort in the neck, feet, and ankles. The authors concluded that the perception of risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders reported in the work/study environment of dental students was significantly related to gender, the course series, and the presence of pain/discomfort.

Os distúrbios osteomusculares e suas consequências para os profissionais da odontologia

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)