Pinch Forces and Instrument Tip Forces during Periodontal Scaling

Abstract

The prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), are elevated among dental practitioners, especially dental hygienists. An important risk factor for these disorders is forceful pinching; however, the pinch forces and instrument forces during scaling are unknown. Six dentists and 6 senior-year dental students were recruited to use a specially designed instrument while performing their usual dental scaling on patients. Thumb pinch force was measured by a pressure sensor, while the forces developed at the instrument tip were measured by a 6-axis load cell. Dental students applied greater mean peak pinch force (35.7 ± 3.8 N) compared to dentists (24.5 ± 4.1 N) (p = 0.001). The peak forces generated at the instrument tip were higher among the dentists. Increased experience in periodontal scaling leads to the application of less pinch force to accomplish scaling. Nonetheless, the applied peak pinch forces in both groups are high and pose a risk for the development of musculoskeletal disorder of the distal upper extremity.