Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevalence and Body Discomfort among Dentists by Visual Analog Discomfort Scale

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have been reported as the most importantreason for early retirement among dentists. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and body discomfort among dentists. This cross sectional and descriptive-analytical study carried out on all dentists(150 subjects) of one of universities in Tehran province. We useda visual analog scale (in order to determine the severity of body discomfort) and also a body mapquestionnaire (in order to assess musculoskeletal disorders prevalence). Data analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test, t-test and Kruskal-Wallis.Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 22 software. According to the results of the body map questionnaire, the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was allocated to the neck (50%), shoulder/arm (45.3%) and low back (34.5%), respectively. Also results of the visual analog scaleindicated that the highest amount of discomfortwas related to low back (70.2), neck (55.4) and shoulder/arm (54.4), respectively. According to high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and also, high levels of body discomfort, dentists need to take corrective actions with the priorities of educational programs.