Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and median mononeuropathy among dentists -- HAMANN et al. 132 (2): 163 -- The Journal of th
Posted Sep 27 2008 12:00am
My interest for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome among dentists was motivated by an email I received a September 1, 2008 from Marita Kritzinger, Editorial Director, Dental Learning HUB.
We're now looking into this field while the "cross-sectional study, quoted below, demonstrates that a relatively highnumber of dentists have a prolonged median-ulnar latency, yettwo-thirds of the dentists affected are asymptomatic."
Mediracer could, in my view, be used as a device to do the occupational health testing for dentists. A mobile clinic focusing on crafts people might be a solution for many other occupations as well.
Therealso is a higher rate of hand and finger pain symptoms amongdentists than among the general population. This higher rateof pain is associated with dentists who reportedly work longerhours, says the report.
However, there appears to be no significant differencebetween the prevalence of clinically and electrodiagnosticallydefinite CTS among dentists and the rate among the general population.
I have to talk with Veijo Lesonen how such a service could be arranged and how the service could be distributed to reach those who should be diagnosed.
As in the general population, there are many dentists with slowingof the median nerve who are asymptomatic but may be at an increasedrisk of experiencing CTS in the future.
Conclusions. The prevalence of symptoms consistent with CTSin the dominant hand among dentists was higher than the prevalencein the general population. However, when electrodiagnostic confirmationis added, the prevalence of CTS was nearly the same as thatamong the general population.
Clinical Implications. Early recognition of CTS can lead tomore effective management. Education regarding ergonomic riskfactors can be an effective preventive measure."
We're now looking into this field while the "cross-sectional study, quoted below, demonstrates that a relatively high number of dentists have a prolonged median-ulnar latency, yet two-thirds of the dentists affected are asymptomatic."
Mediracer could, in my view, be used as a device to do the occupational health testing for dentists. A mobile clinic focusing on crafts people might be a solution for many other occupations as well.
There also is a higher rate of hand and finger pain symptoms among dentists than among the general population. This higher rate of pain is associated with dentists who reportedly work longer hours, says the report.
However, there appears to be no significant difference between the prevalence of clinically and electrodiagnostically definite CTS among dentists and the rate among the general population.
I have to talk with Veijo Lesonen how such a service could be arranged and how the service could be distributed to reach those who should be diagnosed.
As in the general population, there are many dentists with slowing of the median nerve who are asymptomatic but may be at an increased risk of experiencing CTS in the future.
Conclusions. The prevalence of symptoms consistent with CTS in the dominant hand among dentists was higher than the prevalence in the general population. However, when electrodiagnostic confirmation is added, the prevalence of CTS was nearly the same as that among the general population.
Clinical Implications. Early recognition of CTS can lead to more effective management. Education regarding ergonomic risk factors can be an effective preventive measure."