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Dental Implants



 
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nick janczak
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Joined: 19 Jun 2013
Posts: 94
Location: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 3:58 am    Post subject: Dental Implants Reply with quote

I recently had an old crown break off, not the crown falling off, the core snapping off. I've been informed that the best option for me is a dental implant. It's exactly where I place my mouthpiece, so some kind of structural strength is needed.
Has anyone out there had experience of this situation? I've got a lot of reading material from my dentist, before I commit to this course of treatment and I've been informed it's not a ''fit and forget'' solution.
It also means a quite substantial amount of time to allow the implant to attach/heal in the jaw bone before I can resume playing - possibly 2-3 months of downtime away from the trumpet. Not to mention having a new embouchure to deal with when I can resume.
Obviously I want this sorted out but I'm also quite depressed and anxious about all the unknowns.

I am not asking for medical advice, I just want to hear from any other players who have lost a front tooth and had a similar experience and are still playing. I posted this and then saw a post from TH moderators pulling people's posts because they were asking for medical advice.
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Bethmike
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Joined: 21 Jan 2020
Posts: 192
Location: NW of ORD

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 5:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our son went through this, and it began when he was only 25. It was an 18-month process. The issue was the strength of the jaw bone, and its ability to take the attachment of the implant. His need to be beefed up first. Your doctor will give you an assessment. Once you get that assessment you will have insight to the duration of the process.

Best wishes for the process and the healing!
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nick janczak
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Joined: 19 Jun 2013
Posts: 94
Location: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England

PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your reply and kind words. It is what it is, I suppose, just have to see what happens next.
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jimspeedjae
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Joined: 05 Apr 2013
Posts: 165

PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was eight when in a schoolyard scrap I had my right front tooth break in half...no problem, and hour in the dentists and I had a cap on it. Which broke off a few weeks later and something stronger was put on. That tooth was the bomb...I could sail up to a double high C on my 1.5C.

That saw me through my bachelors and masters. But I knew it wouldn't last, so literally the day after my final masters recital I was in the dentist chair. I'dhad my dentist make a mould from it and I had a proper porcelain crown made (tooth ground down and the cap placed over the tooth). That was 1994. It wan't quite the same, but pretty close - didn't take me long to adapt.

That saw me through my time playing on the ships for a few years (including lead). Then in 2006 I bit into some nutty bread and heard a crack. I thought the crown had broke. No, the tooth itself broke in half. The tooth had to be removed as soon as to avoid infection.

So out it came and a piece of titanium went in. Unfortunately, I had no reference tooth. So along went in something mirroring the one next to it. A little different, to be honest - due to circumstances it was about 5 months between the implant and the tooth being fitted. I didn't require any bone graft, but having the guy knock around in my mouth with a small hammer and chisel is something that I do remember quite vividly!

After the fitting, I guess I took aournd 4, 5 months to get really comfortable on it - but I wasn't playing professionally by this point. I still have range, but only reliably up to around a G, more when I'm in practice (not so much these days lol). But that never bothered me...G is plenty high enough.

So, my advice is try and get as close as you can, but even if you can't, my experience is that I could play well on it once I adapted to it. And to be honest - I never even think about it these days. It feels completely normal and I feel completely secure playing with it.

I completely empathise with your concerns right now, and I wish you every success with yours.
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fintonissimo
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Joined: 06 Sep 2008
Posts: 59
Location: Chicagoland

PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a my right front tooth replaced with and implant a few years ago. Fortunately, I had a dentist who had considered being a trombone major in college, so he had an understanding of how important this would be for me. He listened to all of my concerns. The tooth that was replaced had a root canal that was failing. I am a professional player, and didn't want to have to turn down any gigs. He figured out a way for this to happen...I ended up not having to turn down a single gig in the whole year that I was dealing with the process of getting the implant!

He took a mold of the tooth, and fashioned a temporary that was braced in the back of the tooth to the adjacent teeth on either side. The temporary did not go into the gum area at all, which was important because I had to have a bone graft which couldn't be disturbed for several months before I could do the implant. The temporary was the exact shape of my original tooth, but I asked him to angle it to the other front teeth to form a slight outward "v" with my other front tooth. I was able to play on this tooth immediately after the oral surgery, in fact, the novocaine hadn't completely worn off before I got home and tried it out! Right away, I had a slightly better high range, I think because of making the "v" with my other tooth.

I had this temporary for 6 months, and although it felt weird (there was a slight gap at the top of the temporary between it and my upper gum) I had no problems playing on it. Also, there was the metal brace in the back of the tooth which felt weird. However, he knew about articulation on the trumpet, and he made the brace on the back of the tooth as small as possible so it wouldn't be in the way.

I can't remember the exact timeline, but I think after 6 months, I had a second temporary installed. However, this one didn't work out quite as well. I think the angle of the tooth wasn't quite the same as with the previous temporary. I could play, but lost about 4-5 notes of my upper range! I played on this tooth for about 6 weeks. I began to think I would not ever be able to play high again. However, I had one breakthrough day at about the 3 week mark where I played some high notes...that gave me some hope! The next day was bad again, but the fact that I had been able to play the high notes the day before made me realize that it was just a matter of time and adjustment.

When the final crown was installed, everything was better than both of the previous temporary teeth! Upper range was better than before, articulations up high were stronger and more clear. It was definitely a positive change, but even so, it took me about a year to fully adjust to the new tooth.

So in summary, the entire process was about a year long; I had to pay over $5G out of pocket, and I ended up playing better after the process was finished. I credit this both to the amazing dentist doing the work, and to answered prayer!
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nick janczak
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Joined: 19 Jun 2013
Posts: 94
Location: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England

PostPosted: Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jimspeedjae very similar to how it started for me, only I was running around in junior school and tripped up - broke my front tooth in half and split my thumb open! Anyway, thanks for your story, it makes the whole experience a lot less daunting now. Apart from some downtime and a period of readjustment after the implant has attached itself to my jaw, hopefully I can resume playing again.
fintonissimo, thanks for sharing your experience of this situation. It also gives me some hope that once I get playing again it could be better than before - I've heard Jason Harrelson talking about deliberately taking time off from the trumpet to address some ingrained bad habits with his playing, kind of resetting his embouchure and trying a different approach. I think when I get the go ahead from the dentist to begin playing I'm going to use that initial period of no stamina and a slow build up to where I was before to concentrate on improving things wherever I can.
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