Handedness of Orthodontists and Its Impact on Practice

Objective: To assess the handedness prevelance of orthodontists and analyse the discomfort of left-handed orthodontists on practice. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire about the laterality of orthodontists and their discomfort was prepared and distributed to our orthodontic society members. 173 questionnaires were investigated. Results: Fifteen of the participants were left-handed individuals. Of all the 15 samples, only 1 practitioner had been educated with left hand manipulation while studying dentistry. One of the 7 private practioners preferred left-handed chair for his clinic. Regarding left-handed participants working with right-sided chair, 4 of them thought this situation depresses their treatment quality and 9 of them refused. Most of the left-handed participants complaint about the university education. Conclusion: Left-handed orthodontists afford to adapt themselves to a right-handed world. They could to be educated on left-handed dental chairs to display a more skillful clinical performance.