A Profession at Risk

By Lynn Marsh, RDH, EdD

Oral health professionals—dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, and dental assistants—work collaboratively every day to meet the needs of their patients. While providing oral health care can be highly rewarding, dental professionals are also at elevated risk of musculoskeletal disorders. As such, they must be mindful of using proper ergonomics during the workday. Ergonomics is the science of designing the occupation to accommodate the employee, rather than physically coercing the employee to acclimate to the occupation. Oral health professionals must consider modifying tasks, operatories, instruments, and equipment to help reduce physical stress on their bodies and eliminate many potentially serious, disabling work-related musculoskeletal disorders.^1–4

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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