Specific orofacial problems experienced by musicians

Background: Patients who play musical instruments (especially wind and stringed instruments) and vocalists are prone to particular types of orofacial problems. Some problems are caused by playing and some are the result of dental treatment. This paper proposes to give an insight into these problems and practical guidance to general practice dentists. Method: Information in this paper is gathered from studies published in dental, music and occupational health journals, and from discussions with career musicians and music teachers. Results: Orthodontic problems, soft tissue trauma, focal dystonia, denture retention, herpes labialis, dry mouth and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders were identified as orofacial problems of career musicians. Options available for prevention and palliative treatment as well as instrument selection are suggested to overcome these problems. Conclusions: Career musicians express reluctance to attend dentists who are not sensitive to their specific needs. General practitioner dentists who understand how the instruments impact on the orofacial structures and are aware of potential problems faced by musicians are able to offer preventive advice and supportive treatment to these patients, especially those in the early stages of their career

Increasing vegetable intakes: rationale and systematic review of published interventions

Purpose While the health benefits of a high fruit and vegetable consumption are well known and considerable work has attempted to improve intakes, increasing evidence also recognises a distinction between fruit and vegetables, both in their impacts on health and in consumption patterns. Increasing work suggests health benefits from a high consumption specifically of vegetables, yet intakes remain low, and barriers to increasing intakes are prevalent making intervention difficult. A systematic review was undertaken to identify from the published literature all studies reporting an intervention to increase intakes of vegetables as a distinct food group. Methods Databases—PubMed, PsychInfo and Medline—were searched over all years of records until April 2015 using pre-specified terms. Results Our searches identified 77 studies, detailing 140 interventions, of which 133 (81 %) interventions were conducted in children. Interventions aimed to use or change hedonic factors, such as taste, liking and familiarity (n = 72), use or change environmental factors (n = 39), use or change cognitive factors (n = 19), or a combination of strategies (n = 10). Increased vegetable acceptance, selection and/or consumption were reported to some degree in 116 (83 %) interventions, but the majority of effects seem small and inconsistent. Conclusions Greater percent success is currently found from environmental, educational and multi-component interventions, but publication bias is likely, and long-term effects and cost-effectiveness are rarely considered. A focus on long-term benefits and sustained behaviour change is required. Certain population groups are also noticeably absent from the current list of tried interventions

A comparative study on the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among musicians and non-musicians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research comparing the frequency of musculoskeletal complaints between musicians and non-musicians is scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints between musicians and non-musicians.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study in 3215 students from three music academies (n = 345) and one medical school (n = 2870) in The Netherlands was performed, using an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics, use of music instruments and the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints in six body regions. Questions were related to musculoskeletal complaints over the last twelve months and at the time of the questionnaire. Chi-square, t-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparison between the two groups. The association between musculoskeletal complaints and possible predictors was analyzed using a logistic and Poisson regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty-seven music academy students and 503 medical students returned the questionnaire, of which respectively eighty-three and 494 were included in the study. Seventy-four music academy students (89.2%) reported one or more musculoskeletal complaints during the last twelve months, compared to 384 (77.9%) medical students (p = 0.019). Moreover 52 music academy students (62.7%) and 211 medical students (42.7%) reported current musculoskeletal complaints (p = 0.001). The Odds ratio (OR) for the development of musculoskeletal complaints during the last twelve months in music academy students versus medical students is 2.33 (95% CI 1.61–3.05, p = 0.022). The OR at the time of the questionnaire is 2.25 (95% CI 1.77–2.73, p = 0.001). The total number of complaints have been modeled by employing a Poisson regression; the results show that non-musicians have on average less complaints than musicians (p = 0.01). The adjusted means are 2.90 (95% CI 2.18–3.63) and 1.83 (95% CI 1.63–2.04) respectively for musicians and non-musicians. Regarding the localization of complaints, music academy students reported more complaints concerning the right hand, wrists, left elbow, shoulders, neck, jaw and mouth in contrast to medical students.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Musculoskeletal complaints are significantly more common among musicians compared to non-musicians, mainly due to a higher number of upper extremity complaints.</p