Prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in SWU Dental Students

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in 6^th year dental students at Srinakarinwirot University (SWU) in comparison with dental students at Thammasat University (TU) and medical students.
Methodology: Twenty-eight 6^th 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