Work-related musculoskeletal pain among Lebanese dentists: An epidemiological study

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and identify their associated factors among a group of Lebanese dentists.

Materials and Methods: A total of 314 Lebanese, dentists completed an anonymous questionnaire that focused on occupational health problems. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Saint-Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS for windows. The alpha error was set to 0.05.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 39.2 (±11.66) years. The results showed that 61.5% of the surveyed dentists complained of spinal pain: 31.6% of cervical pain, 22.3% of lumbar pain and 13.0% of dorsal pain. Moreover, the pain was continuous in 20.7% and, occasional in 65.8%. Our statistics showed that 7.6% had a problem with the carpal tunnel. A total of 22.3% suffered from tendinitis and 9.2% from arthritis of shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand. The frequency of headaches was 30.6%. Concerning sports activity, 49.7% practiced it occasionally and 3.6% did so frequently.

Conclusions: The occurrence of musculoskeletal pain in the upper extremities is a serious concern that affects Lebanese dentists. Most of them often complained of tendinitis and headaches because they do not practice sports; thus, encouraging them to practice sports may reduce or solve such health problems. Issuing brochures that include exercises to perform and hiring trained assistants could help reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Finally, these occupational health problems should be highlighted at all clinical and research symposia to increase awareness.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Lebanese dentist, musculoskeletal disorders, occupational disease