Impact of sound production by wind instruments on the temporomandibular system of male instrumentalists.

BACKGROUND Playing a wind instrument can be either a reason for overuse or a protecting factor against certain diseases. Some individuals have many findings but low morbidity while others have few findings but high morbidity. This contradictory phenomenon should be researched. OBJECTIVE The temporomandibular system (TMS) is a functional unit which comprises the mandible, associated muscles and bilateral joints with the temporal bone. The TMS is responsible for the generation of sound when wind instruments are played. Over the long-term and with intensive usage, this causes changes in the musculature and in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) of wind musicians, often resulting in temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The aim of this study is to examine evidence that TMD constitute an occupational disease in wind musicians. PARTICIPANTS TMD patients and wind musicians were examined by dental clinical functional analysis. 102 male subjects were divided into three groups: "healthy" individuals, wind musicians, and patients with TMD. METHODS Dental Examination was carried out based on focused inclusion of the research diagnostic criteria - TMD [1,7]. Findings were evaluated for statistical significance by first transferring data into a digital database [2,15], then generating T-Test und Wilcoxon-Test when non-Gaussian distribution appears and applying the Mann-Whitney rank sum test using Sigmaplot Version 1.1 software (Systat Software Inc, Washington, USA). RESULTS The evaluation revealed that wind instrument musicians show a high incidence of developing TMD as the researchers found almost 100% morbidity regarding parafunctional habits and preauricular muscle pain of each adult and highly active musician. The result is highly significant (p< 0.001) for protrusion distance of the mandible. CONCLUSIONS A higher prevalence of functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system has previously been demonstrated in wind musicians. New research results and the typical functions of various wind instruments provide evidence that playing a wind instrument generates occupational risks to the TMS.