Preclinical dental training: Association between fine motor skills and compliance with ergonomic posture techniques

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dental students' fine motor skills and their compliance with ergonomic posture techniques over the course of a preclinical training year. The correlation between fine motor skills and compliance was also assessed. Methods: The ergonomic posture of students enrolled in the second year of a five-year undergraduate dental degree programme (n = 62) was assessed using the Compliance Assessment of Dental Ergonomic Posture Requirements (CADEP). This assessment relied on photographs of the students performing preclinical laboratory procedures during the school year. The photographs of each procedure received a score, and the final score obtained (0 to 10) corresponded to the extent of the student's compliance with ergonomic posture techniques. Initial compliance was calculated during the first two months of the training programme, whilst final compliance was calculated during the last two months. Fine motor skills were evaluated using the modified Dental Manual Dexterity Assessment (DMDA), which was also applied at the beginning and the end of the school year. Data were assessed statistically by Student's paired t test, and the correlation between fine motor skills and compliance with ergonomic posture techniques was estimated by Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and Student's t test (α = 0.05). Results: The compliance scores were higher at the end of the academic year than at the beginning of year (p < 0.001; t = −5.300). Fine motor skills improved significantly with time (p < 0.001; t = −10.975). Non-significant correlations were found between students’ fine motor skills and their economic posture compliance both at the beginning (r = −0.197; p = 0.126) and at the end of the training year (r = 0.226; p = 0.078). Conclusion: The students' manual dexterity and compliance with ergonomic posture techniques increased over the course of the preclinical training year, and the correlation between students’ fine motor skills and their ergonomic posture compliance was not significant.