Abstract
Introduction. Limited research investigated so far the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in dental professionals. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to assess the knowledge of ergonomics among practising dental professionals in Saudi Arabia.Materials and methods. We formulated a questionnaire consisting of 21 questions to explore the role of ergonomics in musculoskeletal disorders among dental professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The questions were related to muscular and other skeletal disorders, and also to the ergonomics of the dental profession. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts, namely: demographic data, work based data and knowledge regarding ergonomics.Results and discussion. A total of 352 participants were considered in the study. The M:F ratio was 3:1. Most of the dentists in our study were general practitioners (GP) with 3-6 years of experience. The pain they reported was mainly felt at neck, back and shoulder. Majority of them considered that the position and distance from patients head directly affects the operators work posture, so that integration of magnification aids will help dentists improve ergonomics. Almost all participants felt the need to include ergonomics in the dental education system (92%).Conclusions. Ergonomics has been suggested for inclusion in the curriculum of dental studies, as observed in our study. Dentists are recommended to attend continuing education for increasing their knowledge about the correct posture and ergonomics.