Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude towards Ergonomics in Dental Practice

Objective: To analyze prevalence of knowledge in dentists regarding ergonomics in dentistry.  Background: Ergonomics has become the overseer of all the professions in past decade. An inside out of ergonomics could definitely aid in reducing the number of dentists retiring due to musculoskeletal disorder. Method: A self-administered, close ended questionnaire consisting of 10 questions regarding ergonomics was distributed among the postgraduates and dental practitioners to assess the knowledge about basic ergonomics in dentistry.  Results: Overall it was observed that the prevalence of knowledge regarding ergonomics is scarce among dentists whereby only 25.6% respondents have attended any workshop or lecture for ergonomics. The awareness pertaining to four handed and six handed dentistry was higher vis a vis other ergonomical aspects of dentistry. The rest such as neutral position, microbreaks, stretch breaks etc saw lesser awareness.  Conclusion: The low prevalence of knowledge of ergonomics is an alarming situation. The need of the hour is instilling appropriate and elaborate knowledge among the dentists of ergonomics thereby lowering the associated musculoskeletal disorders.  Application: Present study has thrown light on poor awareness of ergonomics which calls for organizing more workshops and lectures for the same thereby promoting an ergonomically sound practice of dentistry.