Prevalence of Back and Neck Pain in Iranian Dentists: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Context: 

Musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs) and the pain caused by it are the main cause of loss of work ability, which causes people to leave their jobs and reduce their financial security.

This meta-analysis study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of back and neck pain in Iranian dentists. Data Sources: This meta-analysis study was conducted based on the PARISMA checklist. All articles published in Farsi and English that were conducted in the group of dentists and were published between the years 2000 and 2024 were included in the study. Also, articles that were published in the group of students or assistants or had incomplete data were excluded from the study. Two of the authors of the article reviewed all the searched articles and extracted the related data. It should be noted that all the data were checked and confirmed by the third author of the articles. After entering the data into the researcher-made checklist, data analysis was performed using CMA software.

Results showed, to begin with, 992 articles had been extracted, of which 46 had been removed in the preliminary search. Also, after extra reviews and evaluation of articles, forty-six articles were analyzed. Also, results showed, prevalence of neck pain in Iranian dentists was to 53.3 [CI = 48.5 - 57.9], prevalence of back pain it was to 45.2 [CI = 39.4 - 51.2], prevalence of upper back pain (UBP) in the last 12 months is equal to 39.5 [CI = 31.5 - 48.1] percent, and the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) was equal to 34.4 [CI = 27.8 - 41.6] percent.

Considering the high prevalence of neck pain and back pain among dentists in Iran, it is necessary to take preventive measures to reduce neck and back pain among dentists.