TITLE:
Left-Handed Students and Clinical Practice in Dentistry: Adaptations, Difficulties and Realities Experienced in the Academic Environment
AUTHORS:
Elisa Marianna Abreu Silva, Itanielly Dantas Silveira Cruz, Iris do Céu Clara Costa, Kenio Costa de Lima, Georgia Costa de Araújo Souza, Maria Alice Pimentel Fuscella, Fábia Barbosa de Andrade
KEYWORDS:
Left-Hander, Odontology, Undergraduate, Academic Orientation, Musculoskeletal Pain
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.6 No.11,
November
10,
2016
ABSTRACT: Objectives: To verify the existence of difficulties throughout the course of dentistry clinical practices, identify musculoskeletal pain, and evaluate frequency and intensity of pain/discomfort (if existent) in different regions of the body, experienced by left- handed students in comparison to right-handed students of the odontology courses of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Northeast Brazil). Methods: A general questionnaire was applied to identify left-handed students in a population of 750 students, enrolled in clinical courses. An adaptation of the Grad-Corllet Diagram and a specific questionnaire on clinical practices were applied to the selected students. Descriptive statistics was utilized to analyze data of the specific questionnaire, and Mann-Whitney statistics, chi-square or Fisher’s Exact tests (with a 5% significance level) were utilized for the Grad-Corllet Diagram, searching for an association be- tween discomfort/pain in different body regions and manual laterality. Results: All students presented higher percentage of pain in the lumbar and neck/cervical re- gions. However, left-handed students presented higher values, with statistical signifi- cance levels of p = 0.041 for lower back, p = 0.002 for neck and p = 0.003 for cervical region. Conclusions: The majority of left-handed students classified “moderate” the difficulty of working with equipment designed for right-handers. There was high frequency of musculoskeletal pain/discomfort, with relevant statistical results for left- handed students regarding intensity. It is suggested that the participating institutions evaluate the adoption of inclusion politics, re-adapt the infrastructure to include equipment designed for left-handers, and finally provide adequate work conditions for all students.