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 brushing teeth before playing
Author: janlynn 
Date:   2001-10-24 18:34

the reply to the sticky pad question reminded me of this.
last year i was constantly thirsty at my band rehearsals. i brought water with me and had to take a drink every time we stopped.
one day i forgot my water and i mentioned to the kid next to me that my mouth was SO dry. he asked if i had brushed my teeth before i came to band. i had. and he said something in the toothpaste makes my mouth go dry. so now i dont do it and i dont need the water anymore either. anyone else experience this?

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Joris 
Date:   2001-10-24 19:59

Normally I don't have any problems with brushing my teeth, but at the moment I work in France for a few months and I have a different brand of touthpiece. This one accually makes me produce extra salliva (which is verry ennoying, since it gets into the instrument).

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Peter 
Date:   2001-10-24 20:39

I have not had that problem, but the idea is to get as much of the foreign particles out of your mouth as possible after you eat and before you play.

A young lady in my son's music class once played a sax(?) or a clarinet(?) after eating "messy" chocolate and the instrument had to be thoroughly cleaned out and repadded. An expensive piece of work.

Did you try a different tooth-paste? If you wanted to, you could also brush your teeth without tooth paste, just to loosen up anything caught between your teeth before you rinse your mouth well. Or just rinse your mouth well, but that is often not enough.

I know some people who use a mouthwash like traditional Listerine, that has no sugars, etc., in it and helps to dissolve any grease or sugar residue in your mouth.
I, too, happen to use it after brushing, even though it tastes like heck.

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Todd Wees 
Date:   2001-10-24 21:10

janlynn--

Very interesting observation! I never noticed that correlation, but will now watch for it.

I like Peter's suggestion to brush with just water. That would get rid of the loose "junk" that might get into the clarinet, and you can see if you're still thirsty afterward. If not, then the toothpaste could indeed be the cause.

You could also try Tom's of Maine toothpaste, a "natural" toothpaste. Its ingredients may be somewhat different than those in the majority of the larger brands.

"Original" Listerine (as opposed to their newer, fancier versions) has a fair amount of alcohol in it. Maybe something you don't want, although you just rinse and spit, not swallow.

Todd W

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Benny 
Date:   2001-10-24 21:17

Yes, this happens to me. When I brush before I play I get a very dry, reedy sound which is really aggravating. Now I brush without toothpaste before I play and I don't have that problem anymore.

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Sara 
Date:   2001-10-25 00:08

I was always taught NOT to use toothpaste when brushing your teeth before you play, because toothpaste has suger in it. And if you do brush them again with just water.

Good Luck!!

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Pam 
Date:   2001-10-25 02:32

I always brush my teeth with toothpaste before playing and have never noticed any problems with being more thirsty. I simply don't think about it. I doubt that the tiny amount of toothpaste used has enough sugar to worry about.

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Gordon (NZ) 
Date:   2001-10-25 09:57

Acid - even the thought of it - such as lemons or sour candy accelerates saliva production.
I assume that toothpaste is alkaline to counter both acid attack of teeth and to make an uncomfortable environment for bacteria.
Perhaps alkaline has the opposite effect on saliva production.

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 RE: brushing teeth before playing
Author: Don Poulsen 
Date:   2001-10-25 13:52

Most mouthwashes, including Listerine, contain alcohol, which has a tendency to dry out your mouth even though you spit it out. If you look at the ingredient lists on mouthwashes, you can find a few that do not contain alcohol (ethanol). So, using one of these is preferable, if you do use a mouthwash.

I am pretty certain that toothpastes do <i>not</i> contain any sugar. This would be somewhat counterproductive, don't you think? They may contain small amounts of artificial sweeteners. I do not know the effect of these or other ingredients on mouth dryness.

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 Toothpaste
Author: Azzacca 
Date:   2001-10-25 13:57

Actually there is no sugar in toothpaste - that would defeat the purpose of using it to clean teeth. Usually it is saccharine in toothpaste. Tom's of Maine and a few other natural toothpastes do no add even saccharine. It takes a little getting used to, but it's a nice clean feeling you get from brushing.

It could be the saccharine that is drying your mouth. If you have ever had diet pop with that (rather than aspartame), you may have noticed your mouth actually feels drier after drinking.

Just a few thoughts :)

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 RE: Toothpaste
Author: janlynn 
Date:   2001-10-25 14:04

heyyyyy yeah, youre right! there are some drinks that actually make me thirsty. i never noticed if they were diet or not but always wondered why i was thirsty when drinking a drink. it didnt make sense. now it does.
JL

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