Poor neck posture and longer working duration during root canal treatment correlated with increased neck discomfort in dentists with <5-years' experience in endodontics

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the effects of neck posture and working duration during each step of root canal treatment (i.e. opening the canal [OC], length determination, mechanical instrumentation, try main cone, and filling the root canal) on neck discomfort (ND) in dentists with <5-years' endodontic experience. METHODS: Twenty-four dentists performed a one-visit endodontic treatment of an upper molar in a phantom head model. A video was recorded to evaluate the dentists᾽ neck postures using the Modified-Dental Operator Posture Assessment Instrument (M-DOPAI) and treatment duration. The M-DOPAI divides the dentists᾽ neck postures into three categories: acceptable, compromised, or harmful posture. The participants rated their ND using Borg᾽s CR-10 scale every 10 min. and at the end of each treatment step. The relationships between neck posture/treatment duration and Borg᾽s CR-10 scores were examined using partial correlation. RESULTS: The number of compromised and harmful neck postures during the endodontic procedure (r = 0.43, P =.04) and treatment duration (r = 0.58 P =.005) significantly correlated with ND at the end of treatment. The number of compromised and harmful neck postures during the OC step (r = 0.75, P