{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T14:32:12Z","timestamp":1790433132543,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]],"date-time":"2021-03-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615161600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dental professionals often perform physically and mentally demanding therapeutical procedures. They work maintaining muscular imbalance and asymmetrical positions for a long time. The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence and the factors associated to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) among Italian dental professionals and the most affected body regions. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between March 2019 and February 2020. The Nordic Musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) was implemented with questions related to working habits (dental occupation, working hours per week and per days, years of work) and lifestyle (practiced physical activity, including frequency and duration, mobilization activities, and knowledge of ergonomic guidelines) was used. The-chi square test was carried out to detect any statistically significant difference (p &lt; 0.05). Logistic regression was carried out to detect the most significant factors associated to WMSD occurrence. A total of 284 questionnaires have been used for the analysis. A high proportion of dental professionals (84.6%) were affected by WMSD in the last 12 months. A higher prevalence was found in females (87%) when compared to males (80%). The prevalence of WMSD was correlated to the working hours\/day and hour\/week, with a higher risk for operators working &gt;5 h\/day and &gt;30 h\/week. In addition, a high prevalence was found in operators working for 2\u20135 years after graduation. Most of the surveyed dental professionals practiced physical activity (70.1%) but only a few had satisfactorily knowledge of ergonomic guidelines (12.7%). Interestingly, participants who practiced yoga or stretching as physical activities demonstrated lower WMSD (77%) when compared to other physical activities (84%). We can highlight that generic physical activities have no functional effect on WMSD for dental professionals. The most affected body areas were neck (59.9%), shoulders (43.3%), lumbar region (52.1%), dorsal region (37.7%) and wrists (30.6%). Considering the magnitude of the problem, there is an urgent need to implement the education in ergonomics among dental professionals, that may be achieved by teaching biomechanics, posturology and integrative functional therapies (such as yoga) during the university education and by promoting holistic health of dental operators.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18052705","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]],"date-time":"2021-03-08T12:12:18Z","timestamp":1615205538000},"page":"2705","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":73,"title":["Musculoskeletal Disorders among Italian Dentists and Dental Hygienists"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7793-6227","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Giovanna","family":"Gandolfi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental School, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Program in Ergonomics, Posturology and Yoga therapy for the Degree Course in Dentistry and for the Degree Course in Dental Hygiene, School of Medicine, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Program in Yoga Therapy for the Specialization Course in Sports Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0071-4463","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fausto","family":"Zamparini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental School, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4674-1766","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Spinelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental School, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Risi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Occupational Medicine, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlo","family":"Prati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental School, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jds.2019.01.006","article-title":"Work stress and occupational burnout among dental staff in a medical center","volume":"14","author":"Lee","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. 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