Background -Current Practitioners: Dentists and dental hygienists spend a majority of their appointment time physically exposing themselves to excessive force, and repetitive motion while using dental instruments, as well as numerous distorted body positions that are needed to gain access to the patient’s mouth. Research has shown correlations between improper ergonomics and upper extremity pain within the dental setting.7,16,17,19 There are many documented cases describing clinicians musculoskeletal pain regarding their dental and dental hygiene occupations. Though it is important for all practicing dental professionals to be educated on ergonomics and the prevention of musculoskeletal pain, the students also need to be further educated. …show more content…
Research shows that both dental and dental hygiene students experience some array of musculoskeletal pain throughout their clinical training.2,4,5 Most students are experiencing their pain throughout their neck and shoulder region, due to constant static posture, precise motion, and often working with a bent neck.4,20 The second most common area where students are experiencing pain and discomfort is in the lower back region.5,20 Lower back and shoulder pain is frequently associated with working above shoulder height.4,5 Research also shows that with proper ergonomic training, pain while in clinical training, and private practice can be reduced significantly.8,11 While students commonly do get ergonomic training throughout their college training, forty-four percent (44%) of students admit that they commonly forget to put the training to use, or they have a difficult time getting the proper field of vision when demonstrating the proper ergonomic technique.8 More than half of students believe that adopting ergonomic posture is important to prevent a future problem, yet have difficulties adopting the proper …show more content…
A majority of the articles are cross-sectional studies and all examined upper extremity pain in dental students, dental hygiene students, faculty, and current registered dental hygienists. Multiple articles backed up the theory that musculoskeletal pain is prevalent in both dentists and dental hygienists whether they are currently employed in their field of practice, or they are still completing their studies. Many of them also commonly shared that the most frequent anatomical site that patients were feeling the majority of their musculoskeletal pain was in the neck area. In one study, data was collected in 2007 in a cohort study to examine self-reported and physician-diagnosed neck and shoulder pain in dental hygiene students with the use of a questionnaire. This study consisted of 27 dental hygiene students with no prior dental occupation experience and 39 dental hygiene students with prior experience as dental assistants as well as 94 experienced dental hygienists.4 Another study used a self-reporting questionnaire to investigate the prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal disorders among Australian dentists. The data was collected by the Queensland Branch of the Australian Dental Association through the mail. A total of 285 questionnaires were completed out of the 400 total sample size.1 Another study was a longitudinal cohort study with data being collected for three consecutive years
Dental hygiene is amongst many professions that come with an increased risk of injury. In fact, evidence suggests that the incidence of dental professionals acquiring musculoskeletal disorders is reaching 96%. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these complications are a result of “repetitive motion or awkward posture for more than 2 hours at a time, unassisted frequent manual handling (eg, scaling an area using the same strokes), and unassisted forced manual handling (eg, heavy calculus removal using hand-activated instruments)”. These complications not only affect the quality of life for the
Some people tend to believe that a dentist is all about pulling teeth, filling gaps, and drilling holes in a mouth. That may be true, but this is more about the person that treats a patient prior to a dentist drilling into a mouth. Dental Hygienists provide more than just the basic examination. They also give advice on how to properly brush and floss, the types of foods to avoid, and give examples of what teeth could look like if not taken care of correctly. A dental hygienist provides preventive, therapeutic, restorative and educational interventions to promote optimal oral health.
Dental Hygienist: Have you been flossing? If not, the Dental Hygienist will know. A Dental Hygienist examines and makes sure that you have been flossing, brushing, and much more on your teeth. You really should make sure that you schedule cleanings every couple months or so. Your teeth are a big part of your health, and if you don’t take care of them, you will eventually end up with fake teeth, or the proper name would be Dentures.
associations, canadian dental assistants. "pain associated with the work of dental assistants causes and solutions." (2008).
The best description of a dental hygienist is a professional whose main job is to teach their patients necessary oral hygiene skills and provide great dental care. They perform various tasks around a dentist’s office such as applying fluoride treatments, removing plaque and stains, taking x-rays, removing sutures, placing temporary fillings, and evaluating the patient’s overall health (“Dental Hygienist” Coin Career). Dental hygienists do not just work in a dental office, but they also can work at schools, nursing homes, health clinics, and many other dental settings. Close contact is necessary when doing this job. Working with people is an everyday thing in this profession, so one must be able to communicate and get along with their clients very well. Having certain traits such as excellent hand-eye coordination and great motor skills are very important to posses since dental hygienists work on their patients mouths (Porterfield 4). Communication is vital since dental hygienists are constantly teaching patients how to hav...
through the Eyes of a Participant Observer." Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. Vol. 20, No. 1, 19 Jan. 2012, p. 1. EBSCOhost. 2017 October 25.
Currently, I am involved in a prospective cohort study with other colleagues from King Fahad Medical City that aims to study the effect of a low back care educational program on low back pain prevalence among health-care professionals.
The career I have chosen for my future is to become a registered dental hygienist. It wasn’t until I actually learned what dental hygienists do that influenced my interest from medical to dentistry. The first honest reason I was gravitated to dental hygiene was because of the salary. I didn’t really know what Dental Hygienist actually did until I did some research.
It’s been a long time since the last narrative and a lot has changed. The internship with the dental hygienist failed miserably. After three sessions, my mentor just stopped communicating and cut all ties with me. I attempted to email her multiple times but I remained unheard. So, I had to find a way to troubleshoot and look for another mentor and place to intern at.
It's important for any high school student to have an idea or plan of what they want to pursue in the near future. Most students want to go into the medical field, become a professional athlete, a lawyer, etc. Many talk about becoming a dentist, but not a dental assistant. Simply because they feel like it's not that big of a title of being a dental assistant as compared to a dentist. Little do they know dental assistants play a big role as well in the office. A dental assistant does many tasks and duties that help benefit the dentist and also the patients.
• The use of ceiling lift systems has been shown to decrease spine forces experienced by caregivers during patient handling in one laboratory-based study.
As I started my new journey of becoming a dental hygienist, I came into the program with no background of dental. I came into this program with an open mind and willing to embrace new concepts as well as develop new skills. During my time at the Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene (CADH), I learned that as a dental hygienist that I am committed to promoting and helping each individual achieve their optimal oral health goals. In support of my client’s goals, I may assume any or all of the roles included in the dental hygiene scope of practice. My goal throughout this program was to help my clients achieve their optimal oral health goals through education, health promotion and providing preventive and clinical therapy.
The epidemiology of low back pain. Best Practice and Research Clinical Rheumatology, 24, 769-781. http://dx.doi:10.1016/j.berh.2010.10.002. Jackson, M.A. - a.k.a. & Simpson, K. H. (2006). Chronic Back Pain -. Continuing Education in Anaethesia, Critical Care and Pain, 6(4), 152-155.
Introduction: In Canada, general dental health is not part Canada’s national system of health insurance (Medicare) (1) except for some dental surgical procedures that are performed at hospitals. Since Oral health does not come under the Health Act about ninety-five percent of the oral health care services are offered on a fee-for-service basis. Oral health care is under provincial or territorial jurisdiction like other health care services and publically financed dental care programs provide the remaining five percent of oral health care services (2). Thus, majority of Canadians receive oral health via privately owned dental clinics. Privately owned dental care gives these services providers control over dental service charges, types of available treatment for the patients and number of follow-up appointment for treatments or routine care. Service users pay for the dental expenses from their own pockets or utilize insurance coverage (1).
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy. The volcano is hundreds of thousands of years old. It has erupted over 50 times. The most known eruption took place in 79 A.D. In 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvius erupted onto the city of Pompeii. One witness wrote that the volcanic ash “poured across the land” and covered the city in “a darkness… like the black of closed and unlighted rooms.” When the volcano erupted it killed around 2,000 people. Even though the volcano covered the city in a thick layer of volcanic ash and lava, in 1748 a group of scientist found that after you dug through the layer of ash the majority of the city is still intact. This wasn’t the first major eruption the volcano has dished out. In 1780 B.C. it erupted and