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A study was conducted on the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries among dental hygienists in Ontario, Canada. Dental hygienists and a referent group of dental assistants responded to a questionnaire about work factors and musculoskeletal symptoms. Hygienists were over five times more likely to have been told by a physician that they had carpal tunnel syndrome and were almost four times more likely to meet the case definition of carpal tunnel syndrome compared with the assistants. Almost 11% of the hygienists had carpal tunnel syndrome in the hand used for scaling. Seeing three or more patients with heavy calculus per day, operating in the 10 or 12 o'clock position, and having 5 to 14 years of practice experience were the strongest predictors of carpal tunnel syndrome. Shoulder problems in the scaling hand were best predicted by a history of shoulder injuries, type of practice other than general, working 4 or more days/week, time spent in trunk rotation, and practicing for more than 1 year.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 28(4):521-540, 1995. (22 references)
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