Taking Care Of Your Greatest Resource: Yourself

• Awkward Posture: With certain dental procedures requiring access to hard-to-reach areas of the mouth, many dental professionals adopt uncomfortable positioning for long periods of time to accommodate treatment.
• Repetitive Movement: When using hand instruments, repeating the same movement is often unavoidable. When paired with the continuous gripping of the instrument, tendons and nerves can become strained.
• High Workload: Many dental professionals work long hours on multiple patients with insufficient breaks, which can contribute to pain and reduce blood flow.
• Inadequate Set-Up: Your surgery’s layout and lighting may not be optimised for ease and comfort, and the use of non-ergonomic tools and equipment can cause unnecessary stress on the spine, hands, and wrists.

Reduce Your Pain, Prolong Your Dental Career

With MSDs reported to be the most common cause of ill-health retirement within the dental industry, as well as contributing to reduced productivity and increased workplace absences², prioritising your physical health is key to prolonging your career.

So, what changes can you make to prevent pain and keep your practice running smoothly?

Take regular breaks.

While this may seem obvious, taking periodic breaks between patients can allow you valuable time to reposition, preventing unnecessary strain on the body. Frequent stretching breaks can address the detrimental effects of working in awkward positions, as well as increasing blood flow to muscles, the production of joint synovial fluid, and nutrient supply to vertebral discs.

Taking part in exercise outside of your working day can also help to strengthen muscles and manage stress-related muscular tension – in particular, yoga and Pilates can help to reduce pain when practiced regularly.

Manage your workload.

Taking on more patients may seem like a guaranteed way to increase income and practice longevity, but if not done with careful consideration, it can in fact result in the opposite.

Strategically plan your patient flow by scheduling longer, more complex appointments earlier in the day when energy and focus are at their peak, and alternate complicated procedures with more simple ones to avoid repetitive strain injuries (RSIs).

Ensure you are effectively delegating staff so that workload is shared, and set realistic daily goals for yourself and your wider team. Avoiding overbooking, and prioritise patient and staff wellbeing over volume of patients through the door.

Ensuring instruments are kept sharpened also reduces the hand force required during treatments, while increasing instrument lifespan.

Adjust your posture and positioning.

Choosing the correct dental chair is essential for the comfort of both you and your patient. When selecting your chair, consider its positioning within your practice, and how you and other staff will navigate around your patient.

Opting for easy-clean materials is not only a hygienic option, but also reduces the need for laborious cleaning, allowing you to spend time readjusting your posture and stretching overworked muscles instead.

For dentists performing a lot of seated work, choose a stool that fits your specific needs, or is adjustable to accommodate multiple users or scenarios. The correct stool can help tilt the pelvis forward, enabling your spine to form an ‘S’ shape and transfer some of your weight from your seated position to your feet. Your hips should be positioned only slightly above your knees, reducing lower back strain.

Your stool should always have a back rest, and your feet should be flat on the floor and shoulder width apart. Sit upright and as close to your patient as possible, ensuring the patient chair is positioned at the correct height for your knees to sit underneath, increasing comfort and reducing tension in your shoulders over longer periods.

Finally, pay attention to your posture when working. When seated, feet should be placed firmly on the floor (you should adjust your stool height to facilitate this) and shoulder width apart, your weight should be evenly distributed, and you should adopt an upright position which maintains the natural curve of your spine while avoiding slouching.

Your stool should always have a back rest, allowing you to comfortably sit upright and as close to your patient as possible. Ensure your patient chair is positioned at the correct height for your knees to sit underneath, increasing comfort and reducing tension in your shoulders over longer periods.

When standing, avoid leaning to one side or standing unevenly: distribute weight to both feet to reduce leg and lower back pain. A lever foot control can help with this if it’s moved with your foot flat on the floor.

Optimise your field of view.

Proper visualisation of your patient’s mouth is essential for successful diagnosis and treatment, which is why it is all too common for dentists to lean and twist their bodies awkwardly to obtain the perfect view. However, this can result in neck, shoulder, and back pain, as well as eye strain if lighting conditions are inadequate.

Positioning your patient correctly in the dental chair and adjusting the headrest correctly improves comfort for the patient, and access for both dentists and nurses.

Magnifying the area and ensuring it is well lit helps to sustain a fixed working position, enabling you to maintain a more comfortable, balanced posture. Choose loupes that are lightweight, and lighting that is adjustable for ease of use and adaptability.

Recognise the signs of MSDs.

Being alert to early changes in your health allows for early diagnosis, which can reduce the risk of long-term issues. Take note of any persistent or recurring pain, tingling, or stiffness, and reduced grip strength when performing fine motor tasks. Monitor changes in your moods or sleep patterns, as these can also be indicators of underlying health problems. You may find it helpful to keep a diary of symptoms so you can track them.

Educate your practice staff on the signs of MSDs and other work-related disorders, and encourage them to take regular breaks and speak openly about any issues or concerns they are having. You could even incorporate training courses, or visual reminders around your practice.

1. A systematic review of musculoskeletal disorders among dental professionals - PubMed
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41415-024-7863-0#