 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2010-08-17 08:00
Hi everyone,
Due to a lack of space in my lower jaw, I may have to get braces. The density of teeth in the front of my lower jaw is starting to get uncomfortably high both in general and when I play the clarinet. As you can see from the attached photo, this means that I am not always capable of holding the clarinet straight forward in my mouth. I do not believe this to be very helpful for my technique...
To sum up: I would like to have braces to get some order amongst my teeth, but I am unsure of how it will affect my playing in the period where I wear the braces (one year from the start of the treatment). Therefore, I wonder if any of you have experience from playing the clarinet with braces - is it difficult, completely normal or entirely impossible? The braces will be on the front of my lower jaw and will be covered in approximately two millimeters of plastic or somethink like that when I play.
Your answers are highly appreciated.
Joar
Clarinet and saxophone teacher, clarinet freelancer
Post Edited (2017-05-31 20:14)
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Author: HBO
Date: 2010-08-17 11:03
I have braces.. has been 6 months
Not THAT bad... It's just that your lower lip sometimes crumbles due to the braces, and the hooks on the braces hurt you from time to time. I'm getting used to it though... should be alright soon.
What sucks is that I have braces only on my lower jaw... I would hate to think what happens when I get the braces for upper teeth on.
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Author: kimber
Date: 2010-08-17 11:24
I would think the bracket-in-front kind would be the most uncomfortable...the invisalign and bracker-in-back the most comfortable on the inner lip. I played oboe with invisalign and wasn't really any different after an hour or so of getting used to it.
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Author: superson
Date: 2010-08-17 13:09
Playing the clarinet with braces is fine- I started playing with braces on top and lower jaw and was perfectly comfortable. At first I had problems with the brace rubbing on my lower lip whilst playing but all I had to do was slightly adjust my embouchure to stop this from happening. I felt no different with the brace on than when I had it off.
Good Luck
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2010-08-17 13:52
Thanks for all answers. I think I will have a go at it.
Joar
Clarinet and saxophone teacher, clarinet freelancer
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Author: Ron
Date: 2010-08-19 20:23
Hello Joar,
I played the clarinet with braces for three years. I used a product called EZO which is a denture adhesive. Here is a link with a photo of the box. This product is available in just about any good pharmacy in the US.
http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=ezo+denture+cushions
To use it, I cut and shaped the product which seems a bit thick. However, it worked great. I ran a small amount of lukewarm water on it to soften it and then slowly worked it on to the entire set of braces on my lower jaw.
You have to be patient and play for awhile while allows it to warm up in your mouth as it adapts to the braces and gets settled. It ends up being very secure and can be used several times before it simply gives out. When you use this product and adapt to it, there is NO pain at all since the braces are completely covered with the wax that is embedded on some cloth. I got used to it quickly and was able to play with no pain at all for the entire three years.
If you want to try this and have trouble finding it, please get in touch and I'll be glad to help you get some.
Good luck.
Ron
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2010-08-20 06:55
Thanks for the tip! I will try it out if necessary.
Joar
Clarinet and saxophone teacher, clarinet freelancer
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Author: clarionman
Date: 2010-08-20 17:05
When I had my braces I tried both the wax product and the plastic lip protector. I have to say it was more comfortable to play with the wax. It just takes alittle bit to get used to it.
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