Back pain in dentists: Risk factors and awareness of dentists [Diş hekimlerinde bel aʇrisi: Risk faktörleri ve hekimlerin farkindaliklari]

Objective: musculoskeletal system disorders and low back pain are common among dentists. this affects efficiency and quality of work and quality of dentist's life. the aim of this study is to assess the risk factors associated with the occurrence of low back pain and awareness of dentists about this problem. method: our study was performed in february-march 2015 as a face to face questionnaire with 141 dentist who have been working in baskent university faculty of dentistry for more than a year. demographics of the patients,features of working conditions,musculoskletal findings belonging to the last year,postural status which may cause pain and awareness of the doctors about this subject were questioned in seperate forms. for grading likert scale was used. contributors were evaluated in groups according to their risk status and pain condition. p < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant for all data. results: one hundred and forty one dentists (96 women,45 men) who work at baskent university faculty of dentistry participated in this cross-sectional study. demographic properties,working conditions,musculoskeletal and back pain frequencies have been recorded by face-to-face questionnaire. ninety-eight dentists (69.5%) reported musculoskeletal system pain,88 (62.5%) of them had low back pain. there was no relationship between socio-demographic properties and pain. high perceive dexertion,awkward position,and working with unproperly designed equipment were statistically significantly related to the musculoskeletal and back pain. stress in working environment was also statistically related to the back pain. conclusion: the frequency of work-related musculoskeletal system and back pain can be lowered by awareness and knowledge of dentists. they can be more acknowledged about adopting appropriate work practices and modifying personal habits. hence,the dentists can easily express their demands about improvement of their working conditions.