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Re: Implants for lower teeth?

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-06-03 03:12

There are two issues:

1. The strength of the replacements

Normally I'd say the implants would be plenty strong, but because you refer to bone loss and bone graft, this particular implant may be less sturdy than most. The dentist who would do the procedure should help judge this.

2. The amount of force used for the embouchure

There are traditionally a wide range of acceptable approaches to correct clarinet embouchure. However, to prevent possible complications with replacement teeth I would strongly recommend trying an approach that uses the least amount of effort. What comes to my mind is the traditional German approach which uses a mouthpiece with a very small opening (1.00mm or less), a very long facing (distance from tip of mouthpiece to the point where the reed and mouthpiece come together) usually around 30mm, and a fairly SOFT reed (usually a strengty of 2 1/2).

I have posted about this before. Bas DeJong of Belgium represents Viotto German mouthpieces. Upon request he will make a mouthpiece (N1 facing is standard German facing) that fits atop Boehm clarinets. For the N1 facing, Bas recommends the use of 2 1/2 strength Vandoren White Master Traditional reeds. With this setup, one basically only needs to place the mouthpiece/reed into the mouth and just blow. Surprisingly with little to no effort you can produce a wonderful sound with the full dynamic range!

It is also so much easier to transition to double lip embouchure with this setup which will offer even more insurance against putting unnecessary pressure against the lower teeth.

.....................Paul Aviles

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Topics

Author

Date

Implants for lower teeth? new

Claudia Zornow

2021-06-03 01:08

Re: Implants for lower teeth? new

Paul Aviles

2021-06-03 03:12