Experiences of Left-Handed Undergraduates in a Dental Faculty in Malaysia

Work environment in dentistry benefits the right-handed dental practitioners. This situation requires the left-handers to work in an adjusted position causing them discomfort and inconvenience. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the identified left-handed undergraduate dental students in Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in performing dental procedures. The first phase of the study was to determine handedness of the students using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory Questionnaire that was distributed to all the dental students. This was followed by a qualitative study using the phenomenology approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on left-handed students to determine their perceptions on left-handedness in performing dental procedures. The number of students interviewed was based on attainment of the saturation point. The interview was recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analysed through coding, categorising and grouping responses into themes. Prevalence of left-handedness in this faculty was 7%. The participants were not aware of the right-handed situation when they enrolled in the faculty. This situation gave rise to psychological impact such as anxiety and stress. Although some participants were able to use their right hand for certain procedures, the dominant hand continued to be their preference. The difficulties encountered when using the non-dominant hand were grip-strength, angulation and positioning of the instruments. Dental procedures in periodontology (such as scaling, root debridement) and oral surgery (tooth extraction, incision and suturing) were found to be very challenging. They experienced muscle fatigue, reduced precision and prolonged time to complete the dental procedures. They felt that they should be given more time to adapt using the right hand under the tutelage of left-handed faculty members. Left-handed dental students faced difficulties in adapting to the right-handed situation and affect their effectiveness and efficiency. Specific activities need to be designed for left-handers to adapt to the situation under the guidance of left-handed faculty members.