Musculoskeletal Disorders among Dentists in the Private Sector

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dentists practicing in the private sector in the city of Agadir, Morocco. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among dentists in the city of Agadir after informed consent. An anonymous questionnaire containing 19 closed questions was distributed. Data entry and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS software at the Community Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Laboratory of the Faculty of Dentistry of Casablanca. Results: 100% of doctors reported at least one musculoskeletal complaint. 19.42% of these musculoskeletal disorders were diagnosed and under treatment, 80.58% were undiagnosed, mainly affecting the neck, shoulders and lumbar region. 40% of dentists were diagnosed between 5 and 10 years of practice, 50% had been practicing for less than 10 years, 46.6% were overweight and 40.3% of the participants did not practice sports. Discussion: The rate of dentists reporting musculoskeletal complaints is alarmingly high compared to rates recorded in the literature. Several factors linked to lifestyle and professional activity may explain the results found. Musculoskeletal suffering can also be amplified if the dentist does not respect ergonomics in his dental practice. Conclusion: The rate of musculoskeletal disorders found in our population is alarming. Further studies are needed to evaluate ergonomic compliance to understand better the results of our study.