TromboneChat

My 11-year old son, who's a trumpet player needs to have teeth work. He's only been playing for 6 months, so it's a good time. From reading online, I suspect that Invislign is the best option if he wants to keep playing/practicing?

I also need to get long-needed dental work. For me though, my lower teeth are so crooked that when they're straightened out they would be wider than the uppers. The uppers aren't too bad, but they would need to be spread out to accommodate the lowers. It seems like braces on top and bottom would do the job properly. I'd have to keep them on for 8 months. Or, they could trim down the sides of some of the lower teeth and do the invisalign just on them. Cost wise, it's still the price of a new boat for the dentist.

So my question to anyone who's gone through this, or a trombone-dentist (please forgive previous comment about dentists): Can I still practice and play gigs with braces, or would that be much more difficult? In which case, the Invisalign would be better?

Thanks in advance.

I had a student who did invisalign, but then switched to braces because it was taking too long.  There's a significant time difference and I suspect Invisalign is less predictable as to how long it's going to take.

" ...trim down the sides of some of the lower teeth"
Sounds like an incredibly bad idea to me.  I think it's fairly normal to pull one on each side to make room to spread the others out.  But I'm no dentist.  Hopefully RonkNY will post, he is a dentist.

I can't recommend one way or the other, but I can share my experience with braces to give you an idea what to expect.

I had braces on both rows of teeth for about two years in high school. Initially, the pain while playing was unbearable, and my tone and range greatly suffered. My orthodontist recommended using dental wax, but it didn't help much and was too much trouble to keep applying. I decided to suck it up and play raw, without the wax. Gradually, the pain diminished until it no longer hurt at all, and I got back to my pre-brace playing ability. I think the scar tissue on the inside of my mouth thickened over time, and that reduced the pain. This process took about a month.

When I had my braces removed, it took me another couple of weeks to readjust my embouchure. I don't think my trombone development was hindered by getting braces, but it does require time and persistence to get used to them.

I got braces halfway through my second year of playing, and they were removed them three years later, halfway through my final year of High School.

The adaptation when getting them took a few weeks, but was no big deal. That being said I had not been playing that long when I got them - so I wouldnt know how hard it is to adapt to them for a long time player.

I did most of my early learning and first years of practicing intensively with braces. It did teach me to play without pressure (only way to not cut your lips)l. I got pretty good. Problem is they were removed two or three months before my auditions for what we have between High School and college back home, and a few days before a concert. I needed to be able to play the parts and solo pieces I had been able to play just days before, so I did what I had to do, and took up many bad habits in the process. Most importantly I started using a lot of pressure to get the high range I otherwise had lost. Took me years to get rid of these bad habits I got from those few months and to really properly regain the range I had before. So keep that in mind as you do the transition to or from braces.

I would say apart from that, in my experience the big difference with the braces on was consistency. My good days were just as good as they later came back to be, but the next day could be complete crap in comparison. I could never tell before starting to play how it would feel and sound on any given day. Probably because of everything moving around in my mouth (especially when I had the palate expansion device as well).   

My story with braces FWIW...

I had regular braces when I was 14-15 years old. At that time, they pulled four teeth: 2 uppers and 2 lowers, one on each side. I believe they were molars, maybe pre-molars. (Funny story: the dentist who pulled my teeth accidentally dislocated my jaw! “Oh, you can’t bite down on the gauze? Here, let me fix that.” Clunk! No problems ever.) I had the same problems with braces already mentioned: tough to get used to the braces when they first go on, tough to get used to them when they come off.

About 12 years ago, I went through a course of Invisalign braces because some of the teeth had shifted. Invisalign was definitely the way to go, as I was playing a lot. I could eat and play like normal, and the shifting was done while at my day job and asleep at night. Yes, it took longer and cost more, but it was worth it. They do some proximal reduction, or very slight grinding down between teeth that have very little room between them. Only where they need to, I guess...

Now that I’m in my mid-50’s, the standard braces are again having their revenge: some gum recession made much worse by an enlarged space between the teeth where the molars were removed. I basically have twice the amont of bone between my back two molars because of an empty socket that was filled in by bringing the teeth closer together. From what I was told, orthodontists used to pull teeth to make room to move the existing teeth. Now, they prefer to leave them in and move teeth around or further back in the jaw whenever possible.

***

From the consumer’s perspective: Yes, I’d choose Invisalign, IF your son’s a good candidate. Ask a lot of questions: how much proximal reduction will he need? What’s a time and cost comparison to regular braces? Is Invisalign covered under your dental plan?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the info and suggestions. I'll fold these comments into what I hear from the orthodontist.

i hope you'll post some updates about how it all progresses.

Quote from: robcat2075 on Jan 19, 2018, 09:27PMi hope you'll post some updates about how it all progresses.

Absolutely. Pictures too? 

Quote from: robcat2075 on Jan 19, 2018, 09:27PMi hope you'll post some updates about how it all progresses.

Absolutely. Pictures too?