The purpose of this study was to examine the musculoskeletal pain management of dental hygienists in a bid to pave the way for the development of programs geared toward letting them lead a healthier life at work. The subjects in this study were dental hygienists who worked in dental hospitals and clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. A survey was conducted by visiting them from July 9 through August 24, 2007. The findings of the study were as follows:
1. Concerning the state of musculoskeletal pain, 41.3 percent of the dental hygienists investigated felt that pain before they started to work as dental hygienists, and 94.2 percent suffered that pain after that.
2. As to the cause of musculoskeletal pain, treatment posture(67.5%) was cited as the cause, and another cause was that they had to stand for a long time(23.5%).
3. After they worked at dental hospitals or clinics, they felt significantly more musculoskeletal pain in the neck(p＜.05) and on the shoulder(p＜0.01), and they had a backache significantly more as well (p＜0.01).
4. As for the way of handling the pain, the largest group(33.6%) just bore with it. The second greatest group took physical therapy(26.3%), followed by Oriental medical treatment(14.7%), selftreatment(14.3%) and drug intake(8.5%).
5. Regarding connections between musculoskeletal pain experience and life adjustment, those who had ever felt that pain after starting to work in dental hospitals or clinics(3.44±.667) were less adjusted to daily routine life than the others who hadn’t(4.00±.667)(P＜0.05). And the former fitted into their workplaces less(3.09±.568) than the latter. The gap between the two was statistically significant(P＜0.01).
6. The dental hygienists who suffered pain due to the repetitive use of the body(2.98±.854) were less adjusted to daily routine life and work than the others who didn’t(3.73±.767)(P＜0.001).
7. As for correlation between the pain experience and difficulties at work and in daily life, those who felt the pain found it hard to take care of their work, and were aware of the necessity of health checkup.
But the pain experience didn’t have a close correlation to their awareness of the necessity of health checkup(P＜0.01). The dental hygienists who faced difficulties in daily life found it hard to handle their work as well, and those who were cognizant of the necessity of vocational health education were more in want of education about how to alleviate the pain. There was a strong correlation between their awareness of the necessity of vocational health education and their need for education about how to ease the pain.
8. In regard to health checkup, 48.8 percent underwent a health checkup once a year at work. 37.8
percent had never done it on a regular basis, and 90.7 percent felt the need for that.
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