 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: eofung
Date: 2008-04-09 04:37
I've noticed in the past year that my teeth have been shifting as a result of clarinet playing. I've had braces in the past, and many teeth extracted, so I believe my teeth are weaker than they should be, since they've been moved so drastically. I still use a retainer.
Today, I actually wiggled my front tooth with my fingers, and got REALLy nervous. has this ever happened to anyone before? I'm a little afraid to practice now, since I constantly feel them moving. I'm starting to think I may have to give up playing as well.
I'd appreciate any words of advice, or shared stories of similar trials.
thanks...
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2008-04-09 05:08
Teeth are not solidly mounted. They can always wiggle a little bit. Sometimes they are more wiggly than others, but then again, an excessively wiggling tooth can indicate something that needs attention.
How about discussing it with your dentist. He is the only expert on your particular teeth.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-04-09 05:52
your talking about your front teeth right? that happens to me as well as I too had braces. I think that because your bone moved from their original location, the bone density yields to the constant movement of braces. Bones do grow back together, however their strength is never as strong had it been broken.
(unless you have a metal screw in your bone like when my brother fell when snowboarding)
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-04-09 10:52
If I were you I would stop playing until I see my dentist. You can't be too careful with things like that.
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Author: D
Date: 2008-04-09 18:44
I don't have a problem playing clarinet or sax, but lots of trombone practice does make me remember my teeth are not fixed in my head as solidly as I would perhaps like. As well as consulting your dentist, do you have a good teacher to work with who can help you build extra muscle strength in your lips so you don't use as much pressure with your teeth? Or perhaps the dentist can fashion a retainer specifically designed to play with.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2008-04-10 01:24
A downside to having dental implants, which are completely solidly fixed to the bone, is that one loses that sensation of pressure (actually tension in the ligaments that the teeth are 'suspended' by) which is a part of the eating/chewing sensation and pleasure.
So you could count your blessings.
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Author: eefer ★2017
Date: 2008-04-10 07:21
Teeth aren't suspended by ligaments. They are held in place by bone (that is what makes extractions so difficult). When you have braces on your teeth, a gram or two of pressure is applied to push the teeth where the dentist wants them to go. The bone in the area that the teeth move toward dissolves (resorption), and the teeth move to that empty space. The appliance (braces) holds the teeth in position until new bone grows to fill the space that the teeth occupied before they moved. Then you see the dentist again in about four weeks to have the next phase of "tooth-moving" done.
I am 57 and still wear retainers when I play. They are similar to Invisalign trays, but only cover my six front upper and lower teeth (Essix retainers). I also wear them at night. The big problem for most instrumentalists who wore braces is that they discontinue wearing their retainers and then their teeth move from the pressure of the instrument upon the teeth. This is especially true for people who wore braces for crowding.
Teeth move for your entire life. If there isn't enough bone to support them, they become loose. Keeping teeth clean and seeing the dentist every four to six months will help keep your teeth in good condition.
You need to visit your dentist now, if you don't know whether the looseness needs follow-up. Every wind player knows that the teeth are the foundation that supports the instrument. There is a sign in my dentist's office that says, " Only take care of the teeth you want to keep." Take care of your teeth now and you will enjoy a lifetime of playing. Ignore them and you will lose you ability to play wind instruments, along with your teeth.
Nancy
Nancy Buckman
AACC Symphony Orchestra
Opera AACC
Early Music Society of Northern MD
(and a lot of other ensembles, too)
nebuckman@gmail.com
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2008-04-10 10:25
1 of my top 2 teeth used to wiggle for decades. Testing it right now it still does a little. Since I started using tooth patches it wiggles much less.
been playing since the 70s - I've also have never had braces if that matters ?
Can't help much but if you are really worried about take tha advice and talk to your dentist - hopefully your dentist plays clarinet !!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2008-04-10 12:19
When you go to the dentist, take your clarinet with you, or at least the mouthpiece, so you can demonstrate exactly how your teeth interact with the mouthpiece. After all, the dentist may barely know a clarinet from a flute or oboe. :-)
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2008-04-10 12:21
"After all, the dentist may barely know a clarinet from a flute or oboe. :-)"
or tuba
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-04-10 13:51
eofung,
FYI... this is what Wikipedia has to say about how teeth are attached:
"The periodontal ligament is a specialized connective tissue that attaches the cementum of a tooth to the alveolar bone. This tissue covers the root of the tooth within the bone. Each ligament has a width of 0.15 - 0.38 mm, but this size decreases over time.[32]
The functions of the periodontal ligaments include attachment of the tooth to the bone, support for the tooth, formation and resorption of bone during tooth movement, sensation, and eruption.[33] "
Hans
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-04-10 14:55
Here is what I suggest, prefaced by the fact that I have had a successful life as clarinetist A few pertinent facts: I have had bad teeth, especially the front teeth all of my life since losing a front one when I was 13. Pain, absess, lost teeth, then the round of replacement of this or that. I once had a bridge carefully measured by an excellent dentist who was sensitive to the fact that I was a professional clarinetist. When he placed the appliance in my mouth, I felt a shock of pain which subsided almost immediately. He then, out of the supposed kindness of his heart charged me only half of what he would have. The pain was the fact of absess upon the placement. More than several years later it came to life ,swelling and painful until rectified. I was Principal in Milwaukee at the time.
And so it has gone. Dentists don't like things in the mouth that get in the way of "proper alignment", and the clarinet does just that. I have had many students with braces, writing to me with what the dentists have said. Dentists first job is making teeth healthy and they suggest giving up the clarinet.
You love the clarinet, right? You have most probably receding gums or weakness because of any number of reasons.
They're two different things, at least to you. If the clarinet is important, practice it, but not to the point of pain, (which is what I did). When in the US Army, I went to the dentist and asked him to take out all my teeth. Of course he refused, saying that I only needed a root canal, which he performed. I played that night, "Afternoon of a Faun" of Debussy, arranged for band, playing the flute solo on clarinet, blood running down my chin. (truth).
Call me an idiot or a masochist, whatever, but I have found out that I really love the clarinet. There, you have my experience to share. Good luck.
Sherman Friedland
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Author: D
Date: 2008-04-10 18:07
Sherman, interesting you should say that about asking the dentist to pull the lot. It used to be tradition here out in the sticks (for women certainly) to have your teeth pulled before you got married. My Gran had all hers out age 21. Saved time, money and pain later!
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Author: Mike Johnson
Date: 2008-04-10 18:18
I regret that I only have but 32 teeth to give to my clarinet.
Mike Johnson
Napa, California
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-04-11 00:18
I played that night, "Afternoon of a Faun" of Debussy, arranged for band, playing the flute solo on clarinet, blood running down my chin. (truth).
That post was rated R for violent imagery. LOL
you guys are troopers!
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2008-04-11 13:46
I've had more than my share of root canal done. I can't see it being other than poor workmanship to have it bleed like that. But then, what do I know.
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Author: modernicus
Date: 2008-04-11 20:24
My grandfather nearly died from blood loss from dental work he had done while in the Navy. Probably a root canal. Sounds like one should be weary of military dentists...
Post Edited (2008-04-11 20:25)
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Author: samohan245
Date: 2008-04-11 20:51
i also have braces and my teeth move but to the point where i can wiggle one with my finger. you should see a dentist
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