Singing is not associated with temporomandibular disorders

Abstract

This research investigated whether vocalists report pain-related forms of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds more often than musicians who do not load their masticatory system while playing. In addition, we investigated which risk indicators were associated with TMDs among musicians. A total of 1,470 musicians from 50 different music ensembles completed a questionnaire, including 306 vocalists (the group investigated) and 209 musicians who do not load their jaw while playing (the control group). The prevalence of self-reported TMD pain among the vocalists was 21.9%, compared with 12.0% in the control group. 19.6% of the vocalists reported TMJ sounds versus 14.8% of the controls. From the multiple regression model, taking into account the effect of confounders, such as age and gender, singers were not shown to report TMD pain and jaw joint sounds more often than non-singers. Various forms of physical workload were, however, positively associatedwith the presence of self-reported TMDs among musicians, namely the intensity of harmful oral habits with TMD pain and TMJ sounds, the number of hours of daily practice with TMD pain, and the number of years of playing experience with TMJ sounds.