Department of Orthodontics, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China School and Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.
J Appl Oral Sci. 2013 Jul-Aug;21(4):376-82. doi: 10.1590/1678-775720130165.
To determine how early musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) develop in dental professionals and to explore the potential differences among distinct dental specialties.
271 dental postgraduates majoring in five dental specialties were recruited, i.e., orthodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and alveolar surgery. 254 age-matched non-dental postgraduates served as the control. The standardized Nordic questionnaire on MSDs and a self-report questionnaire regarding correlative factors (only for dental postgraduates) were answered through emails. Reliability of responses was assessed applying test-retest method.
The intraclass correlation coefficient of participants' answers ranged from 0.89 to 0.96. Dental postgraduates had significantly higher prevalence of MSDs than the control group, especially at neck, upper back and lower back. In all dental specialties included, high prevalence of MSDs was reported at neck (47.5%-69.8%), shoulders (50.8%-65.1%), lower back (27.1%-51.2%) and upper back (25.6%-46.5%), with lower prevalence at elbows (5.1%-18.6%), hips (3.4%-16.3%) and ankles (5.1%-11.6%). Periodontics students reported the worst MSDs in most body regions except wrists and knees, which were more prevalent for prosthodontic and alveolar surgery students, respectively. Furthermore, year of clinical work, clinical hours per week and desk hours per week were found as risk factors for MSDs, whereas physical exercise and rest between patients as protective factors.
High and specialty-related MSDs afflict dental professionals even since very early stage of careers. Prevention aimed at the specialty-related characteristics and the risk/protective factors revealed in this study should be introduced to dental personnel as early as possible.
确定牙科专业人员的肌肉骨骼疾病（MSD）何时最早出现，并探讨不同牙科专业之间的潜在差异。
招募了 271 名主修口腔正畸学、口腔修复学、牙髓病学、牙周病学和牙槽外科等五个牙科专业的研究生，以及 254 名年龄匹配的非牙科研究生作为对照组。通过电子邮件回答了标准化的北欧肌肉骨骼疾病问卷和一份关于相关因素的自我报告问卷（仅针对牙科研究生）。通过测试-重测法评估了回答的可靠性。
参与者回答的组内相关系数范围为 0.89 至 0.96。牙科研究生的 MSD 患病率明显高于对照组，尤其是颈部、上背部和下背部。在所包括的所有牙科专业中，颈部（47.5%-69.8%）、肩部（50.8%-65.1%）、下背部（27.1%-51.2%）和上背部（25.6%-46.5%）的 MSD 患病率较高，而肘部（5.1%-18.6%）、臀部（3.4%-16.3%）和脚踝（5.1%-11.6%）的患病率较低。除了手腕和膝盖，牙周病学生报告的 MSD 最严重，而口腔修复学和牙槽外科学生则分别报告了手腕和膝盖处 MSD 更常见。此外，临床工作年限、每周临床工作时间和每周办公桌工作时间被发现是 MSD 的危险因素，而运动和患者之间的休息是保护因素。
即使在职业生涯的早期阶段，牙科专业人员也会遭受高发病率和与专业相关的 MSD。应尽早向牙科人员介绍针对该研究中揭示的专业相关特征和风险/保护因素的预防措施。
