Oral and perioral changes in professional morsing players: a descriptive exploratory pilot study

The morsing, a traditional South Indian jaw harp, is played by holding two metal forks against the anterior teeth. Prolonged playing of mouth-contact musical instruments may be accompanied by structural and functional changes in the oral and perioral regions. The effects of morsing playing on oral health have not been well studied, despite its cultural significance.

The purpose of this study was to assess oral and paraoral alterations, such as tooth wear and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symptoms, among professional morsing players.

This exploratory study was conducted over three months among 62 professional morsing players in Tamil Nadu with at least three years of active practice, recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Clinical examinations assessed occlusion, TMJ function, facial muscle activity, oral mucosa, anterior tooth wear (Smith and Knight Tooth Wear Index), oral hygiene (Oral Hygiene Index - Simplified), dental caries (Decay Missing Filled teeth) and periodontal health (Community Periodontal Index). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and simple bivariate tests. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

Moderate-to-severe anterior tooth wear was present in 58.1% of players. Facial muscle fatigue was present in 72.6% of the morsing players. The mean DMFT was 2.45 ± 0.80, and mild-to-moderate periodontal involvement (mean CPI 1.63 ± 0.66). Age and years of playing were strongly correlated with each other (ρ = 0.74) and with tooth wear score (ρ = 0.78 and 0.74, respectively).

Professional morsing players showed a high prevalence of anterior tooth wear and facial muscle fatigue, together with appreciable TMJ symptoms, that tended to be more common in older and longer-practising players.