Summary
There is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in dentists and dental students around the world. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder symptoms in dental students of the Universidad Austral de Chile. A self responded questionnaire was applied to 206 students between second and fifth year, at the end of the academic semester. The questionnaire included questions of general background and symptoms presence depending on type, location, intensity, frequency and time of the day in which they appear. An 83% of the students reported musculoskeletal discomfort, finding a higher prevalence among women. According to the school year, the highest prevalence was observed in fourth year and the most frequent symptom was tiredness and fatigue. In men, the most reported area was mid back, and in women neck and shoulder. The highest intensity was focused on women with pain level 4 and in men with level 3 (depending on the scale (VAS). The moment of the day with higher discomfort was at the end of the clinical work. A high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was found, probably related to the progressive increase of clinical work.
KEY WORDS: musculoskeletal disease, dental student, prevalence.
How to cite this article
ACEVEDO, A. P.; SOTO, S. V.; SEGURA, S. C. & SOTOMAYOR, C. C. Prevalence of symptoms associated to musculoskeletal disorders in dental students. Int. J. Odontostomat., 7(1):11-16, 2013.
