Prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in SWU Dental Students

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in 6th year dental students at Srinakarinwirot University (SWU) in comparison with dental students at Thammasat University (TU) and medical students. Methodology: Twenty-eight 6th year dental students from SWU were surveyed by a questionnaire about the presence of several upper body musculoskeletal disorders symptoms. Their responses were compared with those of 2 different populations: 27 medical students from SWU, and 38 dental students from TU. Result: The comparison between SWU dental students and TU dental students showed that the prevalence of all symptoms was significantly different except more for wrist pain (p > 0.05). When compared SWU dental students and medical students, only more left wrist pain showed no difference in prevalence (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Conventional concept of dental studies and dental training often involve time spent in static, uncomfortable positions, which leads to more prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms.Key Words: WMSD/epidemiology; proprioceptive derivation; occupational diseases/epidemiology