Can You Wear Braces And Play Instruments?

Instruments and braces: Will they affect the way you play?

Those who play instruments are often concerned how braces will affect the way they play.

Many of the high school students who wear braces play in their school bands. They’re either in marching bands, concert bands, or other bands. And, they’re often concerned that orthodontic treatment, or their braces, will affect their overall ability to play instruments.

So, how do braces affect the way you play specific instruments, and what can do to adapt better to braces? By braces, I’m talking about traditional braces, braces that go on your teeth. Obviously if you have Invisalign trays, you can take them out to play and instrument normally and naturally. But, if you’re concerned about braces affecting the way you perform, you may want to consider Invisalign.

Some people, for one reason or another, are not candidates for Invisalign and prefer to go with the traditional braces. They wonder, “How is it going to affect the way I play?” I would say it depends on the instrument. If you play the drums, it’s not going to affect you at all. Now, if you play an instrument where you’re using your mouth, you can expect an adjustment period.

I’m drawing on feedback strictly from patients. I’m not aware of any scientific research in this particular area. But, I’ve treated many patients that play various instruments so, I’ll highlight the feedback I get from them.

What to expect with which instruments

Woodwind instruments

Description: The mouth is not necessarily in close contact with the mouthpiece.

Types: Flute and piccolo

Explanation: The braces won’t affect your lips.

Transition period: None

Types: Flutes

Description: You have a reed, and your mouth goes over the mouthpiece.

Types: Clarinet, saxophone, and oboe

Explanation: Your lips will need to adjust.

Transition period: A day or two

Brass instruments

Description: You press your lips against both your braces and the instrument.

Types: Trumpet, French horn, bass, and tuba

Explanation: You create two to three different notes in one position of your hands or fingers via the amount of air that flows through the position of your lips. Any minor tweak or movement can create a whole different note.

Transition period: A week to a few weeks

Watch video and see how little girl is easily playing trumpet with braces!

An option for those who have a hard time adjusting

Some people have a hard time playing the instrument with braces. They get an uncomfortable feeling with their braces pushing up against their lips. Orthodontists do have a smooth plastic insert that fits over your braces. It’s not something you want to wear all the time because it hangs over your braces and doesn't lock into place well. The insert covers up all the areas of your braces protecting your lips. So, for those who can’t get use to playing an instrument with braces, the insert’s a nice alternative.

If you need more information feel free to call us or post any questions you may have on our Facebook wall.

         Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr Fredericksburg , Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200

Activities You Should Avoid While Wearing Braces

What types of activities will braces prevent someone from doing?

It’s a normal feeling to have; a little bit of apprehension about the orthodontic process, about getting braces, and how it’s going to affect your life. The questions many people have are: “What can’t I do with braces? What activities do I do right now that I won’t be able to do with braces?”

Rest assured, I would say all the activities you do now can be done with braces (unless you are a competitive professional Laffy Taff eater). But, most activities will require you to make some adjustments.

Activities you are NOT prevented from doing while wearing braces

1.) Sports

We talked about sports in a previous blog, Can someone who wears braces still play sports?

Sports require an adjustment. You can still play sports, but protect yourself with a mouth guard that protects your teeth and lips.

2.) Singing

Many singers who receive orthodontic treatment are concerned the appliances in their mouths will prevent them from singing well, especially if they perform in concerts. If you’ve have braces on, they won’t affect your speech or singing pattern.

Now if you have an appliance like an expander or an appliance that fits in the roof of your mouth, it definitely will affect your speech. The majority of people, within three to four days, learn to speak normally with these appliances in. With that being said, there is the occasional person who gets an appliance that fits in the roof of his mouth (whether it be an expander for widening the roof of the mouth or to help with a thumb habit),  but he doesn’t fully retrain his tongue to adjust to speaking with the appliance. For a few months, he may have a lisp or speech impediment.

So, if you sing for audiences, and your orthodontist recommends an appliance that goes in the roof of your mouth, you may want to discuss the “red flag” before proceeding with the treatment.

3.) Playing instruments

After a short adjustment period, most people have no problem playing instruments while wearing braces. Some instruments are easier to adjust to than others. With woodwind instruments, the lips aren’t pressed as close to the teeth as they are when playing brass instruments. For those who play brass instruments (trumpets, tubas, and trombones), it’s more difficult for them to get used to wearing braces. Expect a transition period. The majority of people transition and play well while wearing braces. We can also provide different appliances to fit over the braces that help when playing brass instruments.

A professional musician came into my office wanting braces. He was a trumpet player, but concerned about how braces would affect him playing. He said he regularly performed to the point where he didn’t have time to transition, so in his case I said, “You’re an Invisalign candidate, and we need to go with Invisalign because you’re a professional. Your job depends on how well you play the trumpet. We do not want to even chance the fact you might play differently with braces on.”

But, for most people and those playing instruments in high school, it’s not a big deal at all. So, unless you’re a professional musician (fine-tuned to the point where a minuscule amount of difference would be heard or noticed), you will adapt and sound no different than before you had braces.

Lastly, as funny as it sounds, I often hear: Will braces affect my relationship with my (high school) boyfriend or girlfriend, or spouse? Rest assured, there’s been no complaints. It’s a big myth that braces will affect the relationship at all.

Dr. Beecroft is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to orthodontic treatments, you can book a complimentary consultation by clicking here.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr Fredericksburg , Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200

Can You Play Sports While You're Wearing Braces?

Can someone who wears braces still play sports?

I would venture to say the majority of patients who have braces are involved in some sort of physical activity, whether it’s a teenager in high school sports, a younger child in recreational sports, or an adult who  likes to exercise. Their main concerns are always: “How will the braces interfere with the sports I play? Can I still participate in these activities while wearing braces?

So to quickly answer latter question, “yes,” if you have braces, you can still play sports. They won’t deter you from playing sports, but there are a few precautions you need to take.”

No. 1 precaution to take before playing sports while wearing braces

This applies to more physical sports to include football, baseball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and 1-on-1 combat type sports like boxing, karate, and judo.

Wear a mouth guard

Usually physical sports require you to wear a mouth guard whether you have braces or not. A mouth guard is great for the following reasons:

*   It protects the teeth:

If you’re playing football and you get pushed, punched, and jabbed in the face throughout the whole game, the mouth guard will protect the position of the teeth so they don’t get knocked around.

*   It prevents you from biting yourself

In a strenuous sport where you don’t concentrate on what’s going on in your mouth, (but more on taking down the opposition, you may be put in a position) you may bite down on your lip and tongue or grind your teeth too hard. That can traumatize tissue and your teeth.

*   It can help prevent concussions

In sports like baseball, football, and any other sport where you can experience blunt force trauma to the head, mouth guards have been shown to stabilize your mouth in such a way that you can minimize concussions.

So, if you wear braces and play any of these sports, wear a mouth guard. It protects your lips and cheeks. If you’re not familiar with braces, they’re made to be smooth and fit comfortably in your mouth, but your cheeks won’t be naturally prone to that feeling. Some parts will feel sharp. So, if you to get hit really hard with the ball or a body part in the cheeks or the mouth while in braces, it could cause some serious damage like cutting your lips. There’s actually been situations where the lips and cheeks get caught on the braces. Then, you’ll need the help of your orthodontist or the emergency room physician to detach your lips from the braces.

Now, I have an interesting story about a patient--a baseball player who wore braces. He was fielding a ball that took a bad bounce and caught him in the mouth. Normally if these situations are severe enough, teeth can be knocked out. And if they’re permanent teeth, they aren’t salvageable. Now, this patient was not wearing a mouth guard, so his lips were beat up pretty badly. But, because his teeth were anchored together in one unit, some of them were jarred loose but, they all stayed in place. If the braces weren’t there, a couple of those teeth probably would have been jarred out of the mouth. He could have risked losing those teeth or needing a surgical or root canal procedure to put those teeth back in the mouth. However, the braces acted as an anchor on his teeth. Although it would have been better for him if he’d worn a mouth guard, the braces proved beneficial. Interestingly, you think about braces as a deterrent to playing sports, but every once in a while they may save a tooth.

If you have more questions about  braces, you can post them on our Facebook page. Or you can find more questions and answers on our Orthodontics FAQ page.

                                  Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg , Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200