Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) arises from the compression of the median nerve when it passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Higher prevalence of CTS has been found in certain vocational groups with repetitive hand movements. Hence a study was designed to investigate the prevalence of CTS among dentists and analyse interrelations between CTS and its effect on work related risk factors in Mangalore city. India. Methodology: A cross-sectional study which evaluated prevalence of CTS and the factors that determining CTS among dentists was undertaken. A questionnaire comprising the Symptom Severity Scale (SSS) and the Functional Status Scale (FSS) was used. The overall result is the calculated as mean of all scores. Results: Of the 228 dental professionals 210 responded, with a response rate of 92.1%percent. The population prevalence of pain, numbness, and/or tingling in the median nerve distribution was 20%, a significant association was observed with the years of practice and the symptoms of CTS (p < 0.001) and with respect to different strata's for hours of practice. The odds ratio for symptoms of CTS and the associated factors were determined but none of the above factors demonstrated association. Conclusion: The study concludes that the prevalence of CTS in dental professionals is high, i.e. 20 percent, of which 14.2 percent complained of pain. This had a direct relation to the years of practice of the dental professional, when the diagnosis is made using symptom severity scale.
