Evaluation of ergonomic errors of body postures in senior undergraduate and postgraduate students in Isfahan Dental School in 2014-2015 using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) Method

Introduction: Musculoskeletal pain is very common in dental profession. Prevention of such pains requires assessment and correction of working conditions and body postures using job analysis methods of ergonomics.Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study the working postures of 100 senior undergraduate and postgraduate students in Isfahan Dental School were evaluated using the REBA method by the researcher directly observing the students for 10 minutes and recording the data. In addition, the environmental ergonomic factors were assessed. Data were reported as percentages of relative frequencies and means. Data were analyzed with SPSS using chi-squared test (α= 0.05).Results: The results showed that 60% of the subjects had a score of 3 (a REBA score of 4‒7), i.e. at a moderate level of risk (requiring immediate intervention) and 40% had a score of 4 (a REBA score of 8‒10), i.e. at a high level of risk (requiring very immediate intervention).The type of treatment the students were engaged in affected their ergonomic risk level; students engaged in filing were at a high risk level. There were significant differences in REBA scores between males and females. In this context, 41% of female and 19% of male students had a score of 2 (the score indicating corrective measures) and 29% of female and 11% of male students had a score of 3 (p value < 0.02).Conclusion: Considering the moderate and high risk levels of the subjects, dental students need ergonomic intervention to correct their work postures.Key words: Dentistry, Ergonomy, Posture, REBA.