Background: Specific dentofacial characteristics in wind instrumentalists should be taken in consideration when analyzing physiological and anatomical issues regarding the musician's embouchure, posture, and biomechanics during musical performance.
Objectives: To compare tooth cephalometric characteristics between wind instrument players and string players (overjet, overbite, lower facial height, facial convexity, lower incisor inclination, and interincisal angle).
Methods: In total, 48 wind instrumentalists (67%) and 24 string instrumentalists (33%). These musicians performed lateral tele-radiography and the correspondent linear and angular measurements of the dentofacial cephalometric analysis. Statistical comparison of wind and string instrumentalists was made by using an independent t-test.
Results: Small variations on the analyzed parameters were found between the wind and string instrument groups. Based on the cephalometric analysis the variable interincisal angle was statistically significant (p < 0.05), when comparing the wind and string instrument group.
Conclusions: Knowledge of the overjet and overbite value permits a substantial analysis on the tooth position of wind instrument players, where both of these parameters are increased and greater than the norm value. The cephalometry was an added value on the interpretation of possible factors that lead to the position of the central incisors of wind instruments. Till some extent in this group of musicians the applied forces during the embouchure mechanism on the anterior teeth and the existing perioral forces promote an equilibrium on the vector of forces. This study findings demonstrate that when evaluating the two samples, wind and string instruments there are different dentofacial configurations, however the only statistically significant differences that were found are related to the interincisal angle (p < 0.05).
Keywords: cephalometric analysis; embouchure; orthodontics; performing arts medicine; string instruments; tooth position; wind instruments.