Klarinet Archive - Posting 000718.txt from 1996/10

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Help needed re: teeth cushions
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 13:19:17 -0500

On Mon, 28 Oct 1996, Linda Brady wrote:

> My daughter was once given some strips of plastic type paper which she
> had to fold and cut to size. This was then placed over her front teeth at
> the bottom - much like you place a folded Rizzla paper. She found that
> this saved her lip from getting sore when she played for too long.

It sounds like your daughter was handed a sample of Charles Bay's "Lip
Ease" protector. I don't know if the main mail-order warehouses in the U.S.
sell them, but you might try the (800) numbers for The Woodwind, and
perhaps Weiner as well, and see if a) they answer, and b) they take and ship
international orders.

This may seem odd to some, but an easy tip I learned at Eastman was to
tear off an appropriately sized piece of 3X5 index card, such that it
could be folded in half (right to left), thus making it a double-layer,
and then folding in half down over my bottom teeth. I still use this
"technique" today. One needs to soak it in the mouth for a minute to
make it pliable, after which it adheres to the surface of the bottom
teeth quite nicely and provides a perfect cushion for the bottom lip. If
I alternate between two homemade patches like this with each playing of
the instrument, the two will last for a couple of months before I need to
tear off another piece of index card. I've not experienced any hygiene
problems with this method, incidentally.

Another tooth cushion solution uses floral paper, of which a single patch
lasts seemingly forever.

Good luck,
Neil