Impacts and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders among odontostomatologists

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is a group of periarticular conditions affecting the soft and bony tissues of the limbs and back. Its prevalence is high among odontostomatologists, ranging from 60 to 90.3%. It is therefore a real source of concern and a public health problem. The aim of this study was therefore to describe the impacts and prevention of this disorder among odontostomatologists. This is a literature review study following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method. The documentary search on scientific databases was carried out using the keywords TMS, odontostomatologists, ergonomics, prevention. The study included all articles on the impacts and prevention of MSDs among odontostomatologists published over the past 10 years from 2013 to 2023 written in French or English without restriction as to article type. Incomplete, irrelevant articles published in scientific conferences were excluded . The study analyzed 32 articles and showed that the main impacts of MSDs were pain (56.5%), self-medication (17.4%), reduced quality of work and working hours (17.4%), absenteeism and early retirement (13.0%). Prevention was based on the practice of good ergonomics (73.3%), the use of magnifying glasses (33.3%) and the practice of physical exercise after work (20%). Given these results, ongoing training in MSD prevention is essential to reduce or avoid its occurrence.