• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.117-122
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• 2019

This study aimed to provide the basic data for the prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome by measuring and comparatively analyzing the changes in muscular strength, grasping force, and agility of hands before/after practice, targeting the dental hygiene students taking the scaling practice course. Targeting total 15 students(4th-year) of Dental Hygienics who had no problems with anatomical structure, muscular strength, grasping force, and senses of hands, the muscular strength, grasping force, and agility of hands were measured before/after the scaling practice. The collected data was processed by using the PASW Statistics 18.0(SPSS) Program. In the results of this study, the muscular strength and grasping force of hands were decreased after the practice compared to the ones before the practice. The agility of hands was increased after the practice compared to the one before the practice. Based on such results of this study, it would be necessary to avoid such exhausting hand gestures for scaling, and also to develop the preventive exercise to build up the strength of hands like stretching before/after scaling.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.114-121
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of the research is to measure Dental Hygiene students' level of musculoskeletal pain before and after receiving scaling training which involves repetitive operations and examine effects the operations have on the students' grip and pinch strength. Methods : 15 subjects in Dental Hygiene at Y university located in Chungbuk were tested on November 2, 2011. Results : 12 students had a musculoskeletal pain before receiving scaling training. However, all the 15 students had a musculoskeletal pain after the training. Body part the largest number of the students complained of the pain on was shoulders(37.9%) followed by neck(20.8%), waist(13.9%), wrists(10.3%), then back(6.9%) before receiving the training. Then the result showed that shoulders are where the largest number of students(24.1%) felt the pain, followed by neck(17.2%), wrists and fingers(13.8%), waist(12.1%), back and lower arms(6.9%), then palms(5.2%) after the training. Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) increased to $6.35{\pm}2.09$ after receiving the training from $3.31{\pm}3.38$ and this shows statistically significant difference(p<.001). Upon inspection, average grip strength decreased to $23.23{\pm}5.79kg$ from $25.00{\pm}4.51kg$ after receiving the training and this shows statistically significant difference(p<.05). Key pinch was the strongest among the three pinch strengths followed by tripod pinch then tip pinch. Average of all the three pinch strengths showed to have statistically significant difference before and after the training(p<.05); Tip pinch from $6.53{\pm}1.36$ to $5.87{\pm}1.3$, key pinch from $13.47{\pm}2.5$ to $12.53{\pm}2.30$, and tripod pinch from $9.27{\pm}3.04$ to $8.03{\pm}2.72$. Conclusions : The result showed that scaling training has effects on Dental Hygiene students' musculoskeletal subjective symptoms and their grip and pinch strength changes after receiving the training.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.45-51
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• 2008

Purpose: We evaluated the physical stress and pain to the musculoskeletal system of a dental practitioner when engaging in a dental scaling training exercise to prevent the development of musculoskeletal injuries. Methods: The 18 female (average age: 21$\pm$1 years) subjects were voluntarily picked from a group of juniors who have completed a one-and-a-half year training course that includes training exercises on the dentiform and on live subjects (other trainees). The test is done by measuring pain, activity, grip strength, and finger dexterity for each subject's hand and wrist. Before the test all subjects were confirmed to be right-handed and were informed of the study and its objective. Measuring was done before and after each subject performed dental scaling for one hour using the scaler and the curet. Results: Pain levels increased for both hand and shoulders, but hand pain was often greater than shoulder pain. Grip strength significantly declined in the right hand but not the left. For joint mobility, the flexion and the extension for the shoulder joint did not change; but the range of motion for both wrist joints significantly increased. For the dexterity test, both hands showed increased dexterity after the exercise. Conclusion: Dental scaling can affect the shoulders and wrists/hands. Therefore, a musculoskeletal injury prevention program for dental practitioners, which may include encouraging them to assume correct body posture when at work, must be sought. This study evaluated only the shoulders, wrists, and hands; but future studies should include areas such as the cervical area, the back, and the lower limbs.