Using Electromyography to Assess Postural Load in Dentistry: A Literature Review

This study sought to perform a review of the literature on the use of electromyography to assess postural load in dental work. The literature used in this review was obtained from databases and only articles published published between 1991 and 2019 were considered. The main keywords were “electromyography,” "working posture”, “ergonomics” and “muscle activity”. Each abstract was read to determine whether the information in the article included discussions on the use of electromyography to assess postural load in dental work (n=27). It was found that electromyography is beneficial to assess the influence of different devices used in dental work, however, as it has limitations, researchers must be aware of them to seek alternatives to circumvent them.