The Effect of Stainless Steel and Silicone Instruments on Hand Comfort and Strength: A pilot study

Purpose: Many dental hygienists experience musculoskeletal pain during the course of their careers, often as a result of the sustained grips on instruments and repetitive movements employed during clinical practice. Current research suggests that lighter instruments with a larger diameter reduce force and load on the hand during scaling procedures; therefore, the texture and weight of silicone handles is designed to decrease the strain placed on the hand and fingers. The purpose of this research is to investigate and compare the effect of silicone instrument handles and traditional stainless steel instrument handles on hand comfort and strength.Methods: This pilot study used a comparative cross-sectional study design. A convenience sample of dental hygiene students (n= 23) participated in two simulated scaling sessions for 30 minutes, one week apart. During the first session, students were required to use traditional stainless steel instruments (10mm diameter and 21-26g weight), while during the second session students used instruments with silicone handles. Students were required to complete a Hand Health Profile and perform hand strength tests following each session. Paired t-tests were used to determine significant differences between the grip strength, pinch strength and hand health profiles scores after using stainless steel and silicone instrument handles.Results: The data analyses revealed a statistically significant improvement in grip strength (p<0.02), key pinch strength (p<0.05) and overall hand comfort (p<0.001).Conclusions: This study suggests that the use of silicone instrument handles may improve hand comfort and reduce hand fatigue. These findings should prompt further investigation on ergonomic instrument design.