COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS , PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH, AND BODY AWARENESS AMONG DENTAL PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS

Purpose: To compare the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, psychosocial health problems, and body awareness among dental professionals and students. Material and Methods: A total of 443 participants were included: 154 first-year dental students (Group I, mean age = 18.66 +/- 0.95), 148 senior dental students (Group II, 22.66 +/- 1.25), and 141 working dentists (Group III, 35.63 +/- 9.44). Participants completed the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale, Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ). Results: NDI and BAQ scores were lower in Group I than in Groups II and III (p <.05). ODI was higher in Group III. NMQ-neck pain differed between Groups I-II and I-III (p <.05), while NMQ-low back pain differed between Groups II-III (p =.004). NHP scores were better in Group III. Conclusion: Neck pain is a musculoskeletal problem that should not be overlooked in the early academic years, whereas low back pain tends to emerge during later professional practice. As musculoskeletal problems among dentists increase over time, the concurrent increase in body awareness is a noteworthy finding. Further studies are warranted to explore this relationship in greater detail.

Journal

JOURNAL OF BASIC AND CLINICAL HEALTH SCIENCES

Year

2025

Volume

9

Issue

3

Pages

437-447

ISSN

2458-8938

eISSN

2564-7288

DOI

10.30621/jbachs.1576105

WoS UID

WOS:001592394900003