Dental related question. advice please

[JayW]

I was wondering if anyone has had their wisdom teeth taken out and what the recovery time is generally until you can play again? And also if you experienced any problems from having this done? My dentists tells me I need to have it done ASAP, and maybe I am paranoid? but I recall hearing horrow stories about brass players and having dental work done. Is this a myth or should I have concerns? Any advice really would be appreciated, I am kind of nervous right now about this

[TubaRay]

I, too, have heard many horror stories concerning removing wisdom teeth. I had one taken out last spring. Though not exactly a fun experience, I didn't find it to be that bad. I was playing tuba two days later. It had a very slight effect on my playing, but was not difficult to make the adjustment.

[Uncle Buck]

I don't have any experience playing tuba after having wisdom teeth removed (I wasn't playing when mine were removed), but in general, I'd advise to take whatever recovery time the doctor or dentist tells you to expect, then double it.

There's no reason to expect any long-term effects (the only potential long-term detriment to your playing would be consequences of ignoring the advice to have the teeth removed soon), but you do need to plan to be out of commission, playing-wise, for a while.

The length of time will vary depending on the number of teeth removed, and how much trouble it is to get them out. Just be sure not to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you "have" to play sooner than you should.

Under ALL circumstances, put your health first. The short-term consequences might inconvenience you, but the long-term concequences of NOT putting your health first could permanently hinder, or end, your playing career.

[Bill Troiano]

Hi Jay! My son got motivated and is practicing his (your former) Jupiter again. I can only speak for myself regarding this. I had to have my wisdom teeth taken out when I was 21 years old. I had it done in the summer before attending grad school. They put me out, took 'em out, sent me home, put me on codine for a couple of days, and told me not to play for a week, which would be after they removed the stitches. I was fine after that and resumed playing. I don't remember being in any pain after the 2 days of codine either - just a little swollen. Gather several of your favorite cd's, and get your ipod ready. It will come in handy when you're just sitting around for a couple of days on codine or some other pain pills!!

[Dylan King]

I have had three out so far. I also recommend against going under completely, but if you can you should ask for laughing gas to take the edge off. If the teeth are causing pressure, you should by all means have them pulled, you will have a much more comfortable emouchure after they are out, and you will only be out of commission for a few days.

This website is from a trombone playing dentist. It has info that only a dentist who plays a brass instrument can provide. I'm sure you can email him with any questions.

Good luck!

Brass Players and Detistry website
http://www.jazzer.de/bmd/starter.htm

[bigboom]

I myself had mine pulled this last august. I had all four taken out, the were impacted (still under the gums), and I had to go under. I walked in, sat down in a chair like a normal visit, put on the little bib thing and then they poked my arm and I don't remember anything else until about 6 hours later when I woke up to find I had drooled all over myself. I couldn't play for almost 4 weeks because I didn't want to push it and because I got an infection in a socket. If you play too soon you will get a lot of blood in the mouth piece and the horn which is probably not something you want to do. make sure you ask for something to clean out the sockets, I got a little curved plastick syringe(sp?) that I would fill with water and spray out the sockets with. If you have a choice I would suggest getting them all out at once, that way you only have to deal with it once. I just don't push the playing too fast or hard afterwards, I was warned that I could loose the bloodclots in the sockets and that would only prolong the healing period and make it hurt more. I am glad I finally got them out, they were starting to push on my other teeth and really made it hurt to play sometimes. It doesn't take too long to get back into the swing of things but if you take a few weeks off for recovery, when you come back might be a good time to attack bad habbits since they won't be so freshly imbedded into your playing. Good luck and watch out for the pain meds, that is what made me sick. PM me if I forgot a question or you have anyting else.

Ben

[Art Hovey]

I would suggest that you respectfully ask your dentist how many of those wisdom teeth REALLY need to come out. You may find that only one or two of them are problems, and the others will be ok for years. It is currently fashionable in the dental business to do them all at once, but I have found that my dentist is very reasonable when I explain my concerns. I had one upper removed about 25 years ago and the other one about 4 years ago, and could play the next day with no problem. The dentist asked me why I had not had the lower ones yanked at the same time, and I told her that the (small) risk of damage to the TM nerve (which they explain in great detail) bothered me; I would have them pulled if she said it was necessary, but would prefer to leave them in if they are ok. She understood and let me keep them.

[JayW]

I cannot begin to thank everyone enough for all the common sense they have been pumping into me... I guess i was looking for some doomsday scenario when there was none to be had. So thanks everyone!!

[cjk]

When I was 17 (12 years ago),

--got braces one week
--had all four wisdom teeth out the next week
--two weeks after that, I played my first college wind ensemble audition and did pretty well

(the week after the teeth came out was filled with pain medicine that kept me quite out of it. I would fall flat on my face and think it was funny. My mother, a nurse, was surprised at how potent it was.)

The oral surgeon was OK with tuba playing and there was no Tubenet to tell me otherwise. I would think that your recovery time would be the same as mine was or faster.

[Rick Denney]

All I can say is dont let them do it under a general anesthetic.

This depends entirely on the condition of the teeth when they are removed. Please don't give medical advice.

Rick "whose wisdom teeth were embedded in the jaw and had to be removed by general surgery with a three-day hospital stay, requiring 128 stitches, but who recovered fully enough to play in about three weeks" Denney

[JayW]

Rick,
Thank you very much for your advice.... the first thing the surgeon said yesterday when I went for the consult was that we would have to discuss general vs local .... and that there was going to be a pro/con to both. But i do appreciate everyones insight....It gave me many questions that I otherwise would probably have overlooked. Thanks all

[Rick Denney]

I'm a freak I had a set behind my wisdom teeth so I had all 8 out at once. Not a pleasant experience...... I spent a couple of weeks rung up in bed away from the horn. I started practicing again when I could see straight. The pain medication was really stiff.

That sounds like my experience. The worst time was the day after and a week later when I stopped taking the Percodan. It's the worst pain I've ever felt.

Rick "whose wisdom teeth had to be chipped out of the jaw" Denney

[Rick Denney]

Rick,

I don't believe that you got 128 stitches - because when we put them in, we never count them. You put enough in to do the job and I have NEVER seen anyone count them ever.

I'm going on what the doctor told me. When the stitches dissolved and started coming out, I was spitting out semi-dissolved sutures for a week. It was a very long time (months) before the openings in my mouth filled in. I was in the OR for nearly two hours.

Rick "who also didn't count, but who was there" Denney

[Ryan_Beucke]

Even though I'm eating my lunch right now and this topic is making me sick, I'll still reply haha

I got my 4 out near the end of the summer before my Freshman year as a Euph major. I didn't "go under", but they did give me an IV cocktail that made is so I don't remember a thing...and believe when I say that, I would have been the first to freak out while watching my own surgery. I recommend you don't play for a week or two, depending on your recovery. The more pressure you put on the tissue, the more likely it is to not heal. Generally though, you're looking at a couple weeks of not playing, and after the tissue heals, it'll just be a matter of getting back into the groove.