Hi, I'm getting braces on the 26th of November, and I was just wondering if any of you had any advice on playing with them. I play flute, bassoon, recorder and piccolo. I get them on the 26th, and my first Christmas concert is on the 29th November, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

In the nicest possible way - I am *not* trying to make you worry - 3 days is quite soon after having them fitted. I suspect you'll be ok, but be prepared for some (slight) discomfort, particularly if you're having to shape your mouth in a particular way for a prolonged length of time. It usually takes me about 5-7 days to return to normal after having mine tightened, and it was the same when I had them fitted, but then each person is different.

If you find that the inside of your mouth is being rubbed, which can be quite uncomfortable, I would really reccommend buying some teething gel, as mad as it sounds. It makes things much more bearable, or it does for me, anyway. As I say though, it may well be that you have no problems at all!

I used to have braces and i didn't get any disoomfort or difficulty playing but my sound went a bit airy.

Thanks, I know that 3 days isn't ideal, but I can't get the date shifted, so it's either then or back on the bottom of an 18 month waiting list. It's just annoying that it's right before the Christmas season when I have loads of concerts.

Of course... I understand. Good luck.

I suspect the basson will be the least comfortable to play as the braces will rub on the inside of your mouth/lip with greater pressure, although I'm not all that familiar with flute/piccolo embouchure.

On the other hand, people who play woodwind instruments get braces all the time, so it probably won't be that bad.

Just wondering (as I have also considered getting braces), do new braces affect singing? Do singers with newly-fitted braces go off-tune, or experience a change in their voices?

None of my students have had any problems after having had a brace fitted. We've not noticed any difference at all.

Ok thanks for all the advice. My teacher told me she learnt to play with braces and it wasn't too difficult, and she said it might help my piccolo playing, having my mouth a bit tighter anyway, and that the flute will be worst affected. I suppose I'll just have to hope for the best.

My son had braces. He's a trumpet player. He found that pressure on the braces was rather painful on the lips so we went online and found a website that sells braceguards. I think it was called orthoshop.com. They were little bits of plastic that clipped onto the braces.

His embouchure has altered considerably and although he's had the braces off for 2 or 3 months he's still finding his way again with the new shape teeth arrangement!

I have braces and my oboe teacher used to have braces.

It does make the embouchure more difficult but when the braces come off, it'll be easier (once you're used to having no braces).

I wonder if my tone will get worse without braces

I get braces on the 12th of december (but am first having 4 teeth out!), and i'm a bit worried about my flute playing, but luckily my 2 major concerts that i'm playing flute for are before the 12th, it just means that the flute music for christmas at church will be interesting!

Once i have my braces off in 18 months, i have to have a permanent retainer thingy welded onto my lower set of teeth behind them, to stop them returning to normal, because my lip will naturally push them back over time. luckily, this permanent brace/retainer thing that i will have for the rest of my life is a tiny metal bar that isnt visble, and is fixed on using the stuff used for fillings, and shouldnt bother me, or effect my flute playing (the temporary braces do that instead!).

I will have adjusted by the time i do my grade 8 flute this time next year, but i'll have them on for about 6 months after that, and all my leavers photos will have my braces in them! Oh well, i'll have lovely teeth at the end of all of this!

Do the braces hurt at all? and does it hurt having teeth out?

Jacob.

I've sent you a PM, Jacob.

"all my leavers photos will have my braces in them!" What I didn't mention in the PM was that my leaving photos did as well, but despite very close examination, you can't see them in any of the photos.

Braces hurt for about a week after each time you get them tightened, but most of the time they're ok.

Having teeth out doesn't hurt at all, but the anaesthetic does, and leaves you with an aching jaw for a couple of days.

It took the orthondontist's full kit of ironmongery to pull my teeth back - I even had to wear a head brace at evenings and nights from age 13 to 16. That was why I never got around to learning another woodwind instrument.

Hi
I play the Cornet, Piano and Saxophone. Obviously braces do not affect the piano. But I can tell you that like you I had the school open evening the next day. On the saxophone the braces had virtually no effect, however the cornet was agony! I have now got a wax brace shield from www.braceguard.com and it works amazing it just helps the pain. Also my friend has plastic strips you can get from the orthodontist and finds they work for him so I would try buying something before hand and trying them out a few days before concert. Good Luck