title: Evaluating dental office ergonomic. Risk factors and hazards.
abstract: Concerns about ergonomic risk factors have been growing among health care and other workers. The authors undertook a study to determine the presence of certain ergonomic risk factors in typical tasks performed by dentists and dental hygienists. They further investigated--by means of electromyography and goniometry--the force, frequency and duration of the task. The study suggests that when a task's duration, force and frequency are accounted for, scaling, polishing, flossing and probing activities do not represent exposure to high ergonomic risk.
authors.affiliation: Council on Dental Practice, American Dental Association, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Bramson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
mesh_terms: D003442:Crowns; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003770:Dental Offices; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D012534:Dental Scaling; D003814:Dentistry, Operative; D003815:Dentists; D004576:Electromyography; D006804:Ergonomics; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005542:Forearm / Q000502:physiology; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D011187:Posture; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam