In the dental field; assistants, dental hygienists, dentists, etc. many employees and employers suffer from ergonomic issues. Ergonomics has always been stressed to be perfected since dental hygiene has been around. Ergonomics is big in any career setting, but as for dental professionals it seems to be a little bit more elevated. The dental field has long struggled with many issues regarding ergonomical positioning and ergonomical inventions and these things have just recently started to come to life. Whether dental hygienists like it or not, ergonomics is still an issue and without correcting certain things in the dental operatory and figuring out new ways of positioning oneself, it will continue to be an issue. There are many disorders, musculoskeletal, …show more content…
There is a very high prevalence of these disorders in both dental hygienists and dentists. It is not centered on dental hygienists alone. Some other musculoskeletal disorders experienced are tendonitis, neuropathy, and tension neck syndrome and trapezius myalgia. MSD pain and neuropathy in hygienists alone ranges from 60% to 96%. These disorders arise from certain issues in positioning as well as heavy workloads and exertion in awkward postures. The most affected muscle tends to be the Trapezius because that’s where most of the work load is centered when working on patients (Morse et al, 2007). When working on the maxillary arch, it is the most difficult to position one in a successful ergonomic position. It causes the hygienist to lean and stretch forward. One of the biggest causative factors for bad positioning involves the misuse of the operator chair. If the operator is sat too high it can cause falls, if it is too low it can cause slouching as well as knee or back pain. Another causative factor in these disorders is not having the patient work with the hygienist. The patient can also move their heads in any direction unless they have neck or shoulder issues or are impaired (Valachi, 2012). In the article, Local anesthetic Syringe Ergonomics and Student Preferences, the authors stated “It has been hypothesized that dentists and dental hygienists have heightened risks for wrist deviations …show more content…
We have all heard the statement “sit up straight”. Hygienists and dentists have heard for many years to straighten up and move this way and move that way, but it all comes with practice and experience. For instance, for the maxillary arch, sense that’s where a lot of the awkward positioning resides, there are many ways to correct positioning. Have the patient tip their head back where the occlusal plane is at about a 15 degree angle. If the hygienist is worried about the patient being comfortable there are dental cushions that are able to slide under the patient’s neck to keep them in this position. For the lower arch, make sure that the patient’s occlusal plane at 30 degrees from the horizontal plane and angle the patients chin downward. As far as positioning the operator chair, the hygienist should adjust the backrest height so the most convex portion is in the low back curve, move the backrest away from the back so the hygienist can sit all the way back, use the three finger width rule when choosing a chair and if the closest finger touches the seat the seat is too deep, adjust the height with feet flat on the floor until the thigh slopes a little downward, weight should be evenly distributed, and the chair has arm rests make sure to adjust them where the shoulder is not elevated and where the arm is fully supported (Valachi, 2012). There are also different
This week’s course work was and excellent review of the material that I have learned previously. I definitely like our textbook; however, it gets a little heavy to hold after a while.
Being a dental assistant can be very challenging when it comes to posture and sitting properly. There are several musculoskeletal disorders that can affect your job in the long run. Some so severe you may have to have surgery!! I don’t think we want that.
The best description of a dental hygienist is a professional whose main job is to teach their patients necessary oral hygiene skills and provide great dental care. They perform various tasks around a dentist’s office such as applying fluoride treatments, removing plaque and stains, taking x-rays, removing sutures, placing temporary fillings, and evaluating the patient’s overall health (“Dental Hygienist” Coin Career). Dental hygienists do not just work in a dental office, but they also can work at schools, nursing homes, health clinics, and many other dental settings. Close contact is necessary when doing this job. Working with people is an everyday thing in this profession, so one must be able to communicate and get along with their clients very well. Having certain traits such as excellent hand-eye coordination and great motor skills are very important to posses since dental hygienists work on their patients mouths (Porterfield 4). Communication is vital since dental hygienists are constantly teaching patients how to hav...
To be honest my initial inspiration to take the dental therapy and hygienist course was from my mother, who would say ‘If more people had healthy teeth, more people would smile’.For me this statement was a turning point ,as it lead me to wondering that maybe the lack of clean and healthy teeth , is actually the prime reason to why many of us today do not smile enough , causing less unity between the people in our society. Hence from my research into the dental world, I settled on this course as it gives an opportunity for me to not only learn how to provide an assistance to the dentists trying to spread clean teeth ,but also get a chance to help and encourage younger, elder and those with disabilities to carry out the dental treatments, so
It’s been a long time since the last narrative and a lot has changed. The internship with the dental hygienist failed miserably. After three sessions, my mentor just stopped communicating and cut all ties with me. I attempted to email her multiple times but I remained unheard. So, I had to find a way to troubleshoot and look for another mentor and place to intern at.
Did you know that a dental hygienist could make a slightly large mistake without asking a simple question? Well they can, the most common question is if their patient would like one or more crown placed in there mouth at a time. In order to succeed as a dental hygienist everyone is required to go to either a two or four year college and major in dental hygiene. Many people believe that it is easy to be a dental hygienist because they think that all that is required to do is clean teeth, but its actually quite difficult. Making sure the patients have excellent oral care is very important
Chairs come in many different forms. A good ergonomic chair is perfect for a work station. First, an ergonomic chair has padding on it to ensure comfort. Next, it should be adjustable. An adjustable chair is great in order to have your eyes perfectly aligned with your monitor. An ergonomic chair must have five wheels because five wheels help insure safety by making it harder to fall and tip, and it makes it easier to move around in rather than a chair without wheels. The chair must have support for your back for proper posture and to prevent slouching. The chair must also have an armrest, armrest make sure that your arms don’t get tired of holding their own weight and lets them rest on the armrest. Ergonomic chairs are very important in an
Some lead others to a firm career choice, others may lure you away. When being hired for this certain career, you obtain satisfaction in different ways. You may feel personal satisfaction working with people. This Personal fulfillment comes from providing a valuable health care service while establishing trusting relationships with patients. You may feel prestige as a result of being respected due to your education and clinical training. Hygienists have opportunities to help special population groups such as children, elderly and the disabled in these clinics. They are able to use a variety of interpersonal and clinical skills to meet the oral health needs of many different patients each day. Considering they see many patients, they are able to be creative in their approach to patient management and oral health education. They offer full and part-time employment options, with flexible evening and weekend hours, enabling dental hygienists to balance their career and lifestyle needs. “With a secure future, they are bound to have open positions with the expanding older population retaining their teeth longer and reducing the incidence of oral disease.” says the American Dental Association. (2016) Some cons may consist of lower back pain overtime from leaning over the patient, having below average physical movement, and dealing with nasty hygiene. Though this job may consist of a few downsides, it has many pros that
Working as an esthetician gave me the confidence that I wanted to work with my hands. Having the privilege of being raised in a family of doctors, my observations of family members in the health field grew into a passion of my own to help others. This desire to help others, coupled with my academic interest in the sciences and love of human interaction, led me to consider dentistry for a career. I personally felt the imperative need of dentistry through my father, who received serious inju...
According to Ruth Craven, Constance Hirnle, and Sharon Jensen in Fundamentals of Nursing Human Health and Function a restraint is used to stop a patient from being able to move freely, whether it be physically or assisted with medication. Types of restraints include physical, chemical, nonviolent/self-destructive, violent/self-destructive, and seclusion. Ultimately restraints are used in situations to help keep both the patient and the staff caring for that patient safe. The purpose of this paper is to recognize and explore ways to improve the use of bed restraints and further educate nurses on proper use to enhance patient safety. This is relevant in today’s healthcare setting, because there is still a need to keep patients safe and provide them with quality care, which may include the use of restraints.
Individuals who go through the process of becoming a chiropractor are dedicating their lives to improve others through their own hands. Giving a patient relief and satisfaction without harming their body with drugs that can have horrible side effects is a feeling that is unlike anything else. Facilitating an individual to heal and strengthening their life entirely is what chiropractors strive for and many accomplish that ambition. Additionally, studies and surveys have shown why students of chiropractic chose this profession. The top reasons were that they truly want to help people and heal them, the increase in financial status, and the ambition of having the title “Doctor.” (Wardwell 154). Chiropractors must complete many demanding courses
Restraints are defined as, “a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control or within limits” (Google 1). How would someone feel if he or she were restrained from natural movement or thinking? In the medical field, restraints are meant to be used to prevent harm of the patient and others with a doctor's order, yet this is not always the case. Restraints in today's time hold a negative connotation although are necessary for patient safety.
The seat should not be too long for your legs otherwise it will catch you behind the knees or it will prevent you from leaning fully back. Most ergonomic chairs have a seat with a front that prevents the seat from catching you behind the knees. The seat should also be contoured to allow even weight distribution and it should be comfortable to sit on. Is the seat chair height adjustable? The chair should be adjustable so that you can adjust seat height while you are sitting on the chair.
The three-month intervention targeted the following areas: improvement of worker health through the involvement of unit managers, implementation of unit-wide safety changes, and worker education. The intervention agenda included three themes: 1) improvement of unit ergonomics and safety, 2) practicing safe patient handling, and 3) enhancing staff physical fitness. Floor safety champions were appointed to guide staff during the implementation of the safe patient handling activities. The program included mentoring sessions with an ergonomic specialist, which focused on increasing awareness of strategies to reduce the risk of injury to the worker and patient. Expanded knowledge, readily available supervisor support, and the improved work environment were associated with reduced worker stress and increased consistency in the implementation of safety techniques among workers (Caspi et al.,
Wisner, Alain. The Etienne Grandjean Memorial Lecture: Situated Cognition and Action-Implications for Ergonomics Work Analysis and Anthropotechnology. Ergonomics, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995, Vol. 38, No.8, Pgs. 1542-1557.