Predictive factors of neck pain in dentists

High prevalence of neck pain has become an important health complain among dental practitioners which is followed by reduced working performance, burnout and early retirement. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between individual and occupational risk factors as well as forward head posture (FHP) with dentist’s neck pain and to determine the priority of these factors in the development of the neck pain. In this cross - sectional study, 70 dentists of two dental centers in Tehran were examined with clinical testing of FHP. Individual and job characteristics were collected by means of a questionnaire. The visual analog scale (VAS) was applied in order to determine the severity of pain in various parts of the body. Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regressions were used to examine the relationship and effect of the studied variables in creating the neck pain. According to the results, neck was the most painful part of the body (66.6%). Indeed, 40 (57.1%) of participating dentists were suffering from the forward head posture. The results of the multiple linear regression showed that the FHP with the standard coefficient (β= 0.64) was the most influential factor in predicting the incidence of neck pain. The FHP has a greater impact than any other individual and job factors in creating neck pain. It may be concluded that awkward neck posture is the most important risk factor for neck pain in static sitting jobs such as dentistry.