Ideal vs. Prolonged Standing Duration Influencing Musculoskeletal Disorders: Contextualizing Dental Professionals from Bangladesh

Background & objective: Work-related musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs) are recognized as a serious occupational concern among dental professionals worldwide. Dentists are in the high-risk group for developing MSDs because dental surgeons often cannot avoid prolonged static postures during their work time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the insights of dental professionals who used to work in a standing position for prolonged periods of time. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 dental professionals working in the capital city of Bangladesh. Data were obtained through a pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire administered by an interviewer. A multivariate logistic regression model and Chi-square test were used for the analytical exploration. Adjusted and Unadjusted Odds Ratio with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the specified setting indicators. Result: According to the study, dentists who were parents of 1–2 children (AOR/p = 4.90/<0.01), worked for 5–10 hours a day (AOR/p = 5.60/<0.01), lived in nuclear family (AOR/p = 2.8/0.07) with our any support and who had history of MSDs (AOR/p = 10.90/<0.01) used to stand for prolonged period while doing their dental procedures. Results also reveal that a higher proportion of dentists (63%; n = 69/76) who spent a significant amount of time standing throughout the day mostly experienced MSD. In addition, it was also observed that a significant (19%; n = 21/34) percentage of dentist who kept practicing ideal standing hours also developed MSD at some point in their practice. Conclusion: This means that in all aspects, dental professionals are at high risk and are more likely to develop MSD due to their perilous professional work patterns and reluctance to maintain a comfortable posture during their practice period.