Dental care habits, oral hygiene, and gingival health in Swedish professional musicians

Abstract

The investigation covered 250 professional musicians employed in 3 leading national orchestras in Stockholm, Sweden. The aims were to describe dental care habits, such as frequency of dental visits and frequency and methods of oral hygiene, and to relate these habits to oral cleanliness and gingival health in wind and non-wind instrument musicians. The results showed that 81.2% visited their dentist at least once a year and that 82.8% had had such a regular habit for the past 5 years or more. All subjects claimed to brush their teeth daily, and 66.0% used supplementary oral hygiene aids. The clinical examination showed that oral cleanliness and gingival health were of good standard. Mean plaque index was 0.9 and mean gingival index 1.2. Both measures increased with age and were closely correlated (r = 0.80). The relationships between the dental care habits studied and the clinical conditions with regard to oral cleanliness or gingival health were rather weak, although trends towards better gingival condition and oral cleanliness were observed with increasing frequency of toothbrushing. The results indicate a high degree of dental conscientiousness in professional musicians. No differences were observed between wind and non-wind instrument musicians.

Key Words:

• Dental care habits
• gingival health
• oral hygiene