The flute and Braces

Hi, I got braces about one year ago, but I missed a few appointments because of exams and having to re book later on (like 3 months later) beacuse there were few appointments available etc. :redface:

Anyway, I thought I'd have braces for no longer than a year because my teeth were straight already, but my mum just said to make sure it's straight straight :rolleyes:

I had to have them.
I had tried to play the flute with my braces, but it sounded no way near as good as without them, so I want to wait til they're removed before I carry on with it. The problem is, with the missed appointments, I think it may possibly stay on for up to another year :eek:

which I really don't want, plus the braces hardly made any difference to my teeth.
My question is, can I ask for them to be taken off? Or will the dentist just say "No, you have to keep them on." ?
Last time I discussed playing the flute with my dentist and how it obstructs my ability to play at my best standard, but he just said "no-one else has told me that they were having problems, you probably have to get used to it."

So basically, I don't know what to do now. My next appointment is in February and I was wondering if anyone's had this problem or if I could ask him to remove my braces? They hardly made any significant difference to my teeth, and I need to practice the flute soon because I've only passed grade 6 and need to get it higher because applying to uni and stuff... Though my parents don't know I want to apply to music... anyway, I'll stop rambling :redface:

Help needed... Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

Esquire

1

Hi, i play the flute too. I chose to have wonky teeth :biggrin:

Reply 2

q1w2e3r4t5y

OP

hehe

wish I chose that, though my teeth weren't even bad before!

Reply 3

tbm

13

pianist

Hi, I got braces about one year ago, but I missed a few appointments because of exams and having to re book later on (like 3 months later) beacuse there were few appointments available etc. :redface:

Anyway, I thought I'd have braces for no longer than a year because my teeth were straight already, but my mum just said to make sure it's straight straight :rolleyes:

I had to have them.
I had tried to play the flute with my braces, but it sounded no way near as good as without them, so I want to wait til they're removed before I carry on with it. The problem is, with the missed appointments, I think it may possibly stay on for up to another year :eek:

which I really don't want, plus the braces hardly made any difference to my teeth.
My question is, can I ask for them to be taken off? Or will the dentist just say "No, you have to keep them on." ?
Last time I discussed playing the flute with my dentist and how it obstructs my ability to play at my best standard, but he just said "no-one else has told me that they were having problems, you probably have to get used to it."

So basically, I don't know what to do now. My next appointment is in February and I was wondering if anyone's had this problem or if I could ask him to remove my braces? They hardly made any significant difference to my teeth, and I need to practice the flute soon because I've only passed grade 6 and need to get it higher because applying to uni and stuff... Though my parents don't know I want to apply to music... anyway, I'll stop rambling :redface:

Help needed... Thank you :smile:

The problem with taking braces off too soon is that your teeth might move and end up being like they were previously, or possibly worse- they might end up in funny positions. Are you having them on the NHS? If you are I doubt your dentist would take them off if you're half way through the treatment, but I guess you can ask anyway. If your dentist agrees, you will probably have to wear a retainer for quite a while.

Reply 4

*soph*

14

This won't really help you, but you should have carried on playing with braces! For the first two or three weeks it would have sounded worse than when you first start playing, but then your mouth adapts to playing with braces. Then you have the same problem when you have the braces taken off, but the sound does come back. I had this problem when I had all my wisdom teeth removed but after a few weeks of sounding like I was playing a drainpipe, the sound came back.

Personally, I wouldn't have your braces taken off. If you've stopped playing for a while, you'll have to build up your embouchure again almost from scratch regardless of braces, so you may as well finish the dental treatment and then work your lip back in. However, there's nothing to stop you playing again with braces - just means you have to work hard and concentrate on producing a good sound, then have 3 weeks of hard work when you have them taken off.

Reply 5

q1w2e3r4t5y

OP

Thanks for the replies. I'm worried though that if I start now, and the braces are removed again it would sound dreadful by the time of the exam :s:

Reply 6

thomasp

7

pianist

Thanks for the replies. I'm worried though that if I start now, and the braces are removed again it would sound dreadful by the time of the exam :s:

If you find you're having your braces off a week before the exam, just move the orthodontist appointment back a couple of weeks, so your braces come off just after the exam - I'm sure that would be better than having to "re-learn" how to play the flue :smile:

Explain everything to your orthodontist, and they should understand

It's better that you keep playing the flute now, even if its just to keep the muscle memory in your fingers - if you really can't stand the sound, wear earplugs :biggrin:

A few months before I did my grade 8 piano exam, I had to seriously reduce the amount I was practising, due to an injured hand (scraped it badly along the road after falling off my bike), and due to revision for January A2 exams. I paid the ultimate price: missing out on a pass by 4 marks. So, make sure you keep practising :smile:

Reply 7

tiger_vio

11

Braces are a pain in the arse, aren't they :frown:

but DON'T have them taken off. With about 90% of my mates who have had braces taken off, their teeth have already moved and they didn't even have their braces off early. So yeah..

Reply 8

JennLlama

1

I'd say just keep playing and you'll get used to it after a while. Oddly, my sound on the flute actually *improved* when I got braces put on, which was a bonus, but a couple of my friends had trouble with braces and sound quality - but they kept practising anyway and it got better after a while. As thomasp said, you can always keep your braces on a bit longer if taking them off is gonna disrupt your exam practise :smile:

Jenn xx

Reply 9

q1w2e3r4t5y

OP

Thanks guys for your replies :smile:

I'll try and carry on with braces then :smile:

Reply 10

Little Girl Red

1

My friend found that she couldnt play the flute properly with braces on. I think you just have to practice a bit more until you get used to it.

Reply 11

Apricot Fairy

16

Definitely try and carry on. I had train tracks on my top teeth for 18 months and after a couple of weeks my sound was completely back to normal. I did my A2 recital with them on, playing some seriously difficult (way beyond grade 8) pieces, and then had my braces off about a month later. It's much easier to keep your braces on for a little longer if it coincides with an exam, and if you have them taken off now you will regret it for the rest of your life. I have lovely straight teeth now, and with a bit of work, I found I didn't have to compromise my sound at all.

Reply 12

nuttymimi

2

so would you peeps say that its definately worth going for braces as it usually only takes a few weeks or so before you are able to play flute as before?? Ive put off having braces all these years due to my flute playing - i didnt want to jeopardise my playing in any way. Suppose you could say it worked though - recently just got distinction in grade 8. But anyway, its got to the point where i really cant live with my teeth any more and its affecting everything else i do. I do really want braces to straighten my teeth, but at the same time, although ive reached grade 8, i still want to carry on and join a few orchestras/groups at uni next year. Is it safe to say i should still be able to do and create the same tone with braces on (after some practise of course).

Thanks for any advice!!

Reply 13

mini_mad

7

Hey i got braces a couple of months after i started playing the flute and althought it took a bit of working out i still managed to play with the braces on. So really i learned to play with my braces on. The only problems i had was that i bashed my flute of one of the brackets and it hurt a lot lol. Also when i got my retainer i cldnt play with it in so i used to take it out whenever i was playing took a bit of reajusting to play with out my braces but soon managed it and it was better than loosing all my technique by taking a year and half off of playing.

Reply 14

sexysax

14

I know people who play flute and have braces, and their tone improves once they get used to it.

And by the way, you don't have to get flute to a higher standard to get into uni! It isn't your first instrument!

Reply 15

Helen_w

1

Someone I know managed grade 8 and her A2 recital with braces! It really is just a case of getting used to it, changing your embouchure etc to get a decent tone again. Oh, and when they come off, change again to get used to it again! :wink:

Reply 16

q1w2e3r4t5y

OP

Thanks all! I guess I'll try and get used to it then!

Reply 17

lil_sweetie

1

Hehe well done on the passing-grade-8 front!

Back to the OP - I play, and it took me a while to get used to the flute playing after the braces went on, but it's been 3 years and I'm coping fine - you do adjust, honestly. I'm slightly worried about how it's gonna be affected when I get them off in a few weeks, because my grade 8 is in the January term! Uh oh! Lol, no I would keep going with the flute because you do adjust.

Reply 18

Sephrenia

16

I play the flute, and I started to learn when I had braces on, then they came off and I had to totally change the way I played. The only way is to get used to it Im afraid :hugs:

Reply 19

Katie_a7x

I'm slightly worried about how it's gonna be affected when I get them off in a few weeks, because my grade 8 is in the January term!

I had braces for about 18 months, and managed to get a merit in my Grade 7 exam during that time, despite having some serious initial problems with my tone quality immediately after I had my braces fitted, and never really regaining my full sound.

But, the very same day I had my braces off, my sound was back to the way it had always been, and hearing the clarity again was a blessed relief! Since then my playing has come on so much more quickly and it has been a real joy to play the way I would like to again.

My advice to the OP would be, if you want the braces as much as I did, you can afford to slightly compromise your playing for that short amount of time. You never know; it might not even make a difference to your playing at all! You won't know until you try. Good luck!

The flute and Braces

Related discussions

Articles for you