The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders in preclinical and clinical dental students in Beirut Arab University (BAU) clinics.190 students were recruited from the Faculty of Dentistry at BAU: 95 preclinical and 95clinical dentistry students, and asked to fill the Ergonomic Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ). Then the students were blindly assessed by a physical therapist using Rapid Entire Body Assessment Scale (REBA) scale.Results indicated that 90% of the preclinical and clinical students are at medium to high risk of developing musculoskeletal problems. In addition, 78% of preclinical students showed awareness regarding ergonomics compared to 83% of clinical students. However, only 44% of preclinical students and 62% of clinical students follow good ergonomic practices in their work. On the other hand, 58% of preclinical students and 81% of clinical students suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, but only 23% and 33% of preclinical and clinical students, respectively, are seeking medical consultation. Even though dental curricula integrates the work-related ergonomic challenges in several courses, measures seems to be unsatisfactory to lower the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Adoption of more interactive and effective means to foster proper ergonomics is recommended. Incorporating good ergonomics should start in dental practice in order to avoid illnesses and injuries and to increase efficiency and productivity
