Abstract
Occupation-related musculoskeletal disorders (ORMSDs) signify a health concern experienced globally in different work settings, with major risks associated with job activities. These disorders impact the musculoskeletal system of individuals, leading to pain, discomfort, and in some cases, disability. Among varying healthcare professions, dentistry is the most prevalent profession to report ORMSDs. This is largely due to the nature and demands of dentists’ work. Dentists’ scope of practice and the postures required to carry out dental procedures have been identified as risk factors within the dental environment that increase dentists’ susceptibility to ORMSDs. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of occupation-related musculoskeletal disorders among dentists in Gauteng Province, South Africa (SA). The study was conducted in Gauteng Province, SA and employed a cross-sectional study design. The study’s cohort comprised a total of 134 dentists. Dentists who were registered with the South African Dental Association (SADA) and practicing in Gauteng Province between the ages 25-65 years formed part of the inclusion criteria for this study. An online questionnaire using the standardized Nordic questionnaire was employed in this study to collect data on ORMSDs and musculoskeletal symptoms among the dentists. SADA assisted with data collection by making the link to the questionnaire available on their online platform for Gauteng dentists only to complete. Once the desired sample size of 134 responses was received, the data were cleaned and imported into the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 30, for data analysis. The results of the data analysis showed that 53% of dentists reported having experienced ORMSDs with the neck (69.4%), shoulders (61.2%), and wrist/hands (56.0%), showing the sites with the highest musculoskeletal symptom prevalence. Additionally, the chi-square analysis showed significant relationships between gender, height, and associated risk factors (bending, overstretching, vibration, standing, sitting, repetitive hand movement, holding the same posture, awkward posture/s) with ORMSDs (p <0.05). The multiple logistic regression also showed significant associations between age, knowledge, and bending, standing, and awkward postures with ORMSDs. This implied that the associated risk factors, gender, height, age, and knowledge were factors that contributed to dentists experiencing an ORMSD. Overall, this study found a high prevalence rate of ORMSDs, with many dentists reporting musculoskeletal symptoms across different anatomical sites. The findings of this study highlight the ORMSDs associated risks dentists face and the need for ergonomic interventions to improve and prevent the high prevalence of ORMSDs that exists in the dental profession.