Klarinet Archive - Posting 000264.txt from 2002/07

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Orthodontics and embouchure
Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 10:00:28 -0400

--- Nancy Buckman <eefer@-----.net> wrote:

> Be certain to wear your retainers (probably for life) to keep that slick
> feeling. If you got the braces to fix a crowding problem, it is likely to
> return again without nighttime use of retainers permanently. After four
> times around, I've learned the hard way. Keep light'n up the world with
> that shiny smile!! :>)

I've met so many people over the years who lamented their lack of discipline
when it came to wearing the retainers. Invariably, they open their mouths
and point to that area where the teeth moved around and twisted back toward
their appearance before the braces were installed. I think to myself, "What
a waste of money. And the pain and inconvenience that they endured for 'x'
years was for nothing." Being both a serious musician *and* a thoroughbred
German, discipline and money consciousness were kind of hardwired into me at
birth, so I don't think I'll have a problem wearing the retainers consistent-
ly for the rest of my life. ;-) The braces are for the purpose of fixing a
malocclusion issue with my molars, i.e., they don't line up quite right, re-
sulting in a mitigation of the grinding function that characterizes proper
alignment of those teeth. Everybody has been asking me, "Why do you have
braces? Your teeth looked fine." And they were right, superficially. Hope-
fully, after just 12 months, the braces will come off in December, the mal-
occlusion issue will be rectified, and I'll have the added bonus of teeth
that are even straighter than their otherwise normal appearance before.

All of this without any disruption to my extremely busy rehearsal and per-
formance activities. In fact, my playing has seen some clear refinements
over the past six months, and I wonder to myself if the slight difference
in the shape/contour of my oral cavity hasn't had something to do with it,
from a psychological standpoint, sort of like the adjustments that one must
go through when adapting to a new mouthpiece. Certain psychological ruts
can be disrupted by such changes, dislodging the mind from an otherwise
suboptimal pattern and creating the opportunity to correct the issue for
good.

Neil

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