A cross sectional study to assess musculoskeletal disorders and associated risk factors among dentists in Faridkot district

Musculoskeletal disorders refer to conditions that involve nerves, tendons, muscles, and supporting structures of the body. The present study was conducted to assess musculoskeletal disorders among dentists.

The present study was conducted on 210 dental surgeons of both genders. All subjects were provided with Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) which included nine body areas including neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrist/hands, thighs, knees, and ankles. The risk factors of MSDs that include number of years in dental profession, number of cases done per day, number of working hours was recorded.

Out of 210 subjects males were 110 and females were 100. 80 had >10 years of practice, 70 used to treat 10–15 cases daily, 120 were MDS, 130 were working standing in 140 vision was direct, in 95 working hours was >10 hours and in 160 there was no shoulder and hand movements. The difference was significant (P< 0.05).

Authors found high number of dentists having musculoskeletal disorders. Hence there is need to adopt preventive measures to avoid it.