Perception of dental students on risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Job Factors Questionnaire, and the influence of gender, academic level and pain/discomfort on dental students' perception regarding risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: One hundred forty-five dental students from Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine participated voluntarily in this study. The survey was organised in two sections: (i) Job Factors Questionnaire with 15 items that evaluated students' perceptions about job/study environmental risk factors and their potential contribution to musculoskeletal disorders. The tri-factorial structure (repetitiveness, work posture and external factors) was used; (ii) Part of the Nordic Questionnaire with questions referring to 9 body areas: Neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows, lower back, wrists/hands, hips, knees and ankles/feet. Students answered if they have had a job-related pain/discomfort in any of these body areas in the previous 12 months. The data were evaluated statistically by confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validities, internal consistency and Z-test (α = .05). RESULTS: The tri-factorial structure was considered valid and reliable for the sample after excluding item 8 and inserting correlations between items 11 and 12, and between 14 and 15. The academic level presented a significant effect on the factors "Work Posture" (P = .02) and "External Factors" (P = .01). Most of the students reported pain in their neck (73.79%), lower back (62.06%) and shoulders (53.10%) in the previous 12 months. CONCLUSION: The Work Posture and External Factors were influenced only by academic level. The lower the students' academic level, the higher their perception for both factors of musculoskeletal disorders.

Ergonomics in dentistry: experiences of the practice by dental students.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the experiences of students enrolled in the last year of dentistry school with ergonomic practice. METHODS: This is a qualitative, observational and cross-sectional study, with a non-probabilistic sample design. The sample comprised students enrolled in the last year of dentistry in Araraquara-UNESP (n = 29). The data were collected by means of open semi-structured and individual interviews, captured by a digital voice recorder. The students were interviewed in their own university at a time that was previously scheduled, and care was taken to provide a private and welcoming environment to carry out the interviews. A script containing questions related to practices in ergonomics was prepared at the university. Data analysis was carried out using the qualitative-quantitative Collective Subject Discourse technique with the aid of Qualiquantisoft® software program. RESULTS: It was found that more than half of the students (58.6%) believe that adopting an ergonomic posture is important to prevent future problems, pain and occupational diseases, and 62.1% of the students confirm having difficulties in adopting ergonomic postures due to the types of treatment required and the regions of the mouth being treated. The main reasons stated for the fact that their colleagues do not adopt ergonomic postures are lack of attention, practice and forgetfulness (44.8%) and difficulty in visualising the operatory field or the procedure performed (27.6%). CONCLUSION: It is possible to conclude that the students interviewed know ergonomic principles and their importance in occupational health. However, they found it difficult to put these principles into practice.

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 chi-square 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 (χ(2)  = 1.100; P = 0.577), type of dental procedure (χ(2)  = 5.447, P = 0.244) and mouth area treated (χ(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.