Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Dental Students

Abstract

The study of musculoskeletal symptoms in dental professionals has been a topic of interest for several years. However, few studies have focused on student populations, even though they are exposed to similar professional dentists’ conditions during their clinical practices. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in a population of dental students at a public university in Colombia. Cross-sectional study, where 106 dental students who were studying between the fifth and tenth semester of a public university in Colombia were randomly selected. Students answered a questionnaire composed of 22 questions and structured in three sections: (1) sociodemographic characteristics, (2) clinical practice data, and (3) musculoskeletal symptoms. Students spend an average of 10.5 h per week (SD = 4.1 h) in clinical practice. 27.4% reported that musculoskeletal pain had interfered with their daily activities. Also, students reported other symptoms such as tiredness (60.4%), muscle fatigue (41.5%), numbness in wrist hands (21.7%), and (17.9%) weakness in the grip of instruments and muscle spasms. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the student population was 82.1%, being significantly greater prevalence in women (89.7%) than in men (68.4%) (p = 0.0133) and CI (95%: 2.8%–4.0%). A greater proportion of pain prevalence was also found in women than in men by body region. The body regions most affected, both by frequency and severity of pain, were the lower and upper back, neck, hands-wrists, and shoulders. Findings show university authorities the need for a systemic ergonomic analysis of clinical practices to improve students’ well-being and health.