The effect of singing on pain and psychological well-being in a patient population with pain-related temporomandibular disorders

Background: Even though singing is regarded as potential jaw-overuse behaviour, the actual evidence that underlines the idea of singing as a predisposing factor for pain-related temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is very limited. Objectives: The objectives were to examine if a dose–response relationship exists between the frequency of singing and TMD pain intensity, and if singing is associated with psychological well-being. Methods: The records of 1467 adult patients with functionally aggravated TMD pain were examined. Partial Spearman correlations were used to explore for associations between singing frequency and Characteristic Pain Intensity (CPI), somatic symptoms, depression and anxiety. Results: The mean age of all participants was 42.8 years (±15.3), of which 79.2% were female. Contrary to the male–female ratio, no difference was found in the mean age between the response options with regard to the frequency of singing. Controlled for the influence of gender, the Spearman correlation between the frequency of singing and CPI appeared to be significant and indicated a negative association. In addition, somatic symptoms appeared to be positively associated with the frequency of singing. However, the observed correlation coefficients (ρ = −.073 and ρ =.067, respectively) imply that these are only very weak or negligible correlations. No significant associations with the frequency of singing were found for depression and anxiety. Conclusions: The alleged negative influence of singing on TMD pain intensity was found to be virtually absent. Patients with TMD pain who sing frequently have almost equal scores on psychological well-being compared to those who sing less.