Background: Concern over the impact of playing wind instruments on the stomatognathic system has increased in the last few decades with many health practitioners attending to an increasing number of musical instrument players.
Objective: This study assessed the effects of playing wind musical instruments on the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) of male Nigerian adults.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted in the Dental clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano. Fifty male Wind Instrument Players (WIPs) were recruited for the study and compared with fifty non-Wind Instrument Players (non-WIPs) of the same age, gender and environment. The temporomandibular dysfunction was assessed in both groups using Helkimo index. Reliability test demonstrated an excellent intra-rater correlation (Cronbach's Alpha; 0.98). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17 and statistical significance set at p<0.05.
Results: The majority of participants in the WIP group (32, 64%) had mild to severe anamnestic dysfunction score compared with (20, 40.0%) in the non-WIP group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). The class of instruments played, number of years and frequency of play had a significant negative impact on the anamnestic dysfunction of the TMJ with statistically significant difference (p<0.05). No statistically significant differences in clinical dysfunction scores were observed in the two groups (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Playing wind instruments including the class of instrument, number of years and frequency of playing affected the TMJ function, especially anamnesis. Clinical dysfunction was not affected by playing wind instruments.