Ergonomic Posture Knowledge in Relation to the Perception of Postural Pain During Clinical Care in Dental Students

Jahaira Danitza Talledo Acaro & Angel Steven Asmat Abanto

Summary

The objective of the present study was to determine if there is a relationship between the level of knowledge about ergonomic postures and the postural pain perception during clinical care in students of dentistry. This observational and descriptive cross sectional study, included a total of 60 students with two years of clinical practice of the Dental School at Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego (Trujillo, Peru). They answered two questionnaires: one of perception of postural pain by areas, where the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) in centimeters was used, and the other about the knowledge on ergonomic postures, previously submitted to validation of experts and reliability acceptable according to the Cronbach's alpha test (0.718). It was determined that there is no relationship between the level of knowledge about ergonomic postures and postural pain perception during clinical care (p>0.05). In addition, the level of knowledge about ergonomic postures was predominantly at medium level (50%) and most prevalent pain (82%) and more intense (3.16 cm) in the cervical area. It is suggested to improve training in dental ergonomics and raise awareness of students on the importance of applying it in daily clinical practice.

KEY WORDS: Knowledge, postural balance, pain.

How to cite this article

TALLEDO, A. J. D. & ASMAT, A. A. S. Ergonomic posture knowledge in relation to the perception of postural pain during clinical care in dental students. Int. J. Odontostomat., 8(1):63-67, 2014.