Effectiveness of an Ergonomic Program for Dental Students

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop an ergonomic program for dental students using the participatory ergonomic approach and to explore the effectiveness of such program. The researchers sought to determine if a participatory ergonomic program would decrease work related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMSD) symptoms among dental students. Background: The tasks performed during the delivery of dental services align with several risk factors associated with WRMSDs. Literature suggests that dental professionals develop WRMSDs while they are in dental school however, no ergonomic program has been developed to address this problem. Methods: A quantitative pretest/posttest design was utilized and analyzed using paired t-tests and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test Results: Participants identified ergonomic risk factors and contributed to the development of ergonomic solutions. The ergonomic strategies were implemented for three months. Changes in scores from pre-test to post-test reached statistical significance in two outcome measures including shoulder pain and the Neck Disability Index. Conclusion: Participants identified and utilized strategies such as altering their grasp on tools, improving indirect vision proficiency, musculoskeletal stretches, intentional scheduling and rest periods. Although statistical significance was reached on two outcome measures, the sample size was not large enough or diverse enough to generalize the results to all dental students. Further analysis of the data is needed to determine if activities, outside those performed in dental school, could have contributed to the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Lastly, it could be questioned whether a three month intervention period is long enough to significantly influence a musculoskeletal disorder.