DS plays trumpet and needs braces

[Wanda99]

My 12yo ds is about to be fitted with braces and I suddenly thought about his trumpet playing. He’s been playing for 2 years, so doesn’t practice more than 15 mins 4 times a week. We have the option for Invisalign but the toilets at school are horrible so he doesn’t want to rinse his trays or brush his teeth in there. It’s his choice to have braces instead (also recommended by the dentist) but I didn’t ask his dentist about trumpet playing. Will it cause him a lot of pain, or will it cut his mouth? Is there any way to reduce the pain? Should we go for Invisalign instead, and no doubt have battles to get him to keep them in for 22 hours a day? I’d love to hear from parents of trumpet players who’ve been through this.

Our trumpet teacher refused to teach 14yo DS if he got train track braces, so we went with Invisalign. No regrets.

I wish we had gone with Invisalign for DD. She was playing at international competition level and found braces too much. Her mouth bled despite copious amounts of wax. To be fair, Invisalign would still have changed her embochure (spelling!) but it would have been less painful.

Possible it will given the embouchure required. Invisalign didn’t work for me but proper braces, with retainer afterwards did. It’s also vital your DS is happy to brush his teeth.

How long are the braces meant to be on for? If he’s a hobbyist trumpeter then you might simply need to prioritise that. If this is a serious pursuit then you might need to reconsider but also be aware that the change of teeth positioning may require retraining as a musician anyways.

Your dentist may offer a deferral of braces til DS is older as there’s a risk of reshifting during puberty. (But IMO prioritize getting the teeth right as such appointments /referrals are gold dust around here).

My daughter gave up playing the trumpet when she got braces and never picked it up again.

Thank you for your advice, thank goodness I asked! I’ll talk with his trumpet teacher before speaking to the dentist. He’s pretty good at brushing his teeth so I think it will be ok.

speak to the orthodontist.
my siblings are professional brass players and had braces as teens.
I remember they used a lot of wax!

Bizarre that someone refused to teach a student with braces. I'm a brass specialist and have taught from beginner to degree level, various students with braces (and had braces myself as a teenager and played through) and it's not that big a deal when they get used to it. In fact in some respects it's helpful as it encourages the student to develop skill/muscle to extend range rather than using pressure. At no point should a trumpet or any other brass instrument be being pressed onto the face so hard to cause bleeding - that's a technique issue.

It will of course change the embouchure but that's not as big a deal as it sounds and actually that will (should) change naturally anyway as the teeth move and the mouth shape changes.

He may prefer to switch to an instrument with a bigger mouthpiece (cornet, euphonium, trombone).

Ds continued to play his brass instrument with twin blocks then fixed wire braces.

Yes, not a huge deal. There are little putty coverings to put over the braces. It can be a bit frustrating initially, essentially re-learning how it feels to play, but he'll get used to it.

Thanks everyone. I spoke to his trumpet teacher today who said that children sometimes can’t even make a sound for several weeks, months or longer after having had braces fitted because they have to learn a whole new technique to play. Some children never manage and quit and for those who carry on, it can be very painful. Also, it can be fine. He mentioned rubber guttering that you can get to go over the braces. I just have a feeling that my DS is going to have trouble with it. He’s quite sensitive when he’s injured, especially in the head area, so if he has any cuts in his mouth, I think he’ll find it impossible to play. I know dentistry has moved on, but I had a lot of pain with removable braces as a child and my brother had a horrendous time with fixed braces with multiple cuts in his mouth. I’m veering back towards Invisalign, Then at least I know he won’t have a cut mouth and he’ll be able to carry on playing his trumpet. He may have to rinse his mouth out after lunch in a stinky toilet area but that would be 10 seconds of holding his breath versus potentially years of pain. The problem is, if we start with one type (I.e fixed braces) and it really doesn’t work out, we will then have to pay the full whack for the Invisalign as well.