Work Related Complaints among Dentists

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the occurrence of neck pain, shoulder pain and back pain among dentists and to assess the risk factors affecting them. Sixty-eight dentists from Dharan and Biratnagar were interviewed using pretested questionnaires in January 2006. Back pain was the most common complaint affecting almost 80% of the study population, followed by neck pain (58.8%) and shoulder pain (47%). The frequency of shoulder pain among female dentists was nearly double that of males (P=0.009). The mean days of neck pain among males was significantly higher as compared to females (P=0.048). The study suggests that musculoskeletal complaints are commonamongdentists,thoughtheyarenot of severenature.There is a scope forfurtherdecreasingtheprevalence andseverityofthesedisordersbyperformingregular specific exercises. Key words: back pain, dentists, neck pain, shoulder pain