My trumpet playing just suffered a little set back

[Still Trying]

I was eating dinner last night, tuna fish salad on a plate and some chips, and the next thing I knew I had broken one of my top front teeth square off at the gum. I don't have a clue as to how I did it. But let's just say, my sound is suffering somewhat now, when I try to play trumpet. I'll get the tooth replaced or capped or whatever they can do for it, when I go back to Texas, but that won't be until April. And then I can't imagine how it is going to be trying to play without any feeling in that tooth.

Anybody out there have replacement teeth in the front?
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S. T.

What do we have that we did not receive, and if we received it, why do we glory, as if we received it not?

[markchuvala]

April!!

That's insane....go see a dentist, man.

Mark

[janet842]

I agree with markchuvala. If one snapped off that easily, how do you know the one next to it won't?

Janet

[ltkije1966]

I'm gonna assume you are at college??? If so, do they have a dental school?
They might do it there, for free, if it's a similar situation to U of. Mich. They need real live subjects.

Sorry about your tooth. Good luck, Scott

[Riojazz]

S.T., not only should you see a dentist immediately, but you will want that dentist to get your dental records before fashioning a new tooth. Even a slight change in the teeth can cause changes in your embouchure. Try to get a match to what you originally had. Good luck.
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Matt Finley https://mattfinley.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanstul 1525 w/french, Shires Bb Destino Med & C trumpets, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schilke P5-4 picc, Yamaha soprano sax, Powell flute. Sanborn GR66MS, GR 66CT-Z, & Touvron-D.

[ChaseFan]

[jhatpro]

After a lifetime of dental work I can advise you not to wait to have it resolved. A bridge may not be the best choice. A so-called "New Jersey bridge" involves work to the adjoining teeth as well, which weakens them and can lead to problems down the line. (A friend just had to have root canals on the teeth adjoining his bridge.)

There might be enough of the tooth left to create a "post" for a crown and that would be a lasting solution.

Ultimately, an full implant (quite expensive) may be your best choice, but only a dentist could say for sure. Be aware there are dentists who are advocates of implants and those who recommend against them, especially on uppers because of possible complications involving the sinuses.

Bottom line: do some research and get a opinion from a highly recommended dentist and perhaps several quickly.
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Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
2005 Bach 180-72R
1965 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1946 Conn Victor
1998 Scodwell flugel
1986 Bach 181 cornet
1954 Conn 80A cornet
2002 Getzen bugle

[veery715]

Do not wait. It is not normal for an incisor to simply break as yours did. You need to find out why, as you may be at risk for losing more teeth for the same unknown reason. Teeth are essential to your health and while your trumpet playing is important to you, your teeth are even more important. There could even be a serious health issue that is non-dental that is causing your teeth to be brittle.

If you have the broken piece keep it to show the dentist. It may help him understand the problem as well as be useful as a model in any reconstruction attempt.

Get to a dentist ASAP!
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veery715
Hear me sing!: https://youtu.be/vtJ14MV64WY
Playing trumpet - the healthy way to blow your brains out.

[fraserhutch]

If you call that a minor setback, I'd hate to see what a major setback is....

Get thee to a dentists ASAP.

But I'm going to expand on a super point Riojazz made that applies to every trumpet player: consider getting a dental mold made of your teeth. I can attest from personal experience the profound effects a change to them can make. A dental mold should allow the dentist to recreate your setup in the event of a injury such as this.
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[Jude]

See a dentist ASAP - you can end up with an abcess, an infection inside the gum, that is not only painful, but dangerous, especially in the upper jaw. (You definitely do not want any infection circulating up to the brain.)

You might take along your mpc to demonstrate how much pressure you use and ask him whether it could be over-stressing the teeth. Just to make sure.

[Scorpion]

i got hit in the mouth in a fight and had to have a root canal and crown on both of my front teeth. Sounds like this may not be the case for you. But i can say that these crowns are ticker than normal teeth. I had to completely re approach things. My articulation had a huge setback, and i had to slightly change the way i use my tongue. My airstream also lost some efficiency for a while. Dental work is serious business for brass players. Make sure your teeth are WELL HEALED before starting again.
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-GET OVER HERE!
-1964 Olds Super Balanced Depleted Uranium single flue Harpoon (w/custom coprion hand guard i got from a 1925 Conn Erradicator.) Akright converted handle w/calfskin grip (143xx)

[cheiden]

I assure you that losing a natural front tooth doesn't have to end your playing career. I know a fair number of successful trumpet players with one bogus front tooth, either crown or implant, myself included. Playing on a natural tooth or a crown doesn't feel appreciably different. That said you should definately seek out a dentist familiar with brass playing. If you don't know one then seek advise from some local professional players (union, symphony, university...). I've got a good one if you live in, or want to travel to, southern California.

I add to the choir here, run, don't walk to a qualified dentist. In order to break like that the tooth likely already had a dead root, mine did. If you didn't have a specific incident to kill that root then you just might have some more urgent medical condition that needs tending.

P.S. I've been advised against bridges on the front teeth since it's more likely to muck up your embochure. Crowns are the most common workable solution followed by an implant if your situation procludes a crown.

[Still Trying]

I really appreciate everyone's concerns and comments. The reason I wanted to take care of my tooth problem in Texas is because my dentist there is a very long time personal friend with whom I played in a college band for 4 years. He's a French Horn player, and a pretty good one. He has been taking care of my teeth for a long time. After communicating with him about the problem, he is of the opinion that I might just want to use the occasion to cap the rest of my upper front teeth now while I'm at it. There's a couple of teeth that he has had to work on before, and eventually they will have to be capped also. He's going to take a look at my broken tooth to see what he has to do there, but he reasons that if I'm going to have to adjust my playing because of tooth work in the front, I might as well just have to go through it once instead of spreading it out by attacking the inevitable tooth problems one at a time. (Sometimes it sucks to get old. But on the other hand, there's no real good alternative to growing old.)

I will not be waiting until April (my next scheduled trip home) to see him. I'll be going back in the next couple of weeks or so. It will probably take more than one trip. Might as well just go ahead and get it over with.
_________________
S. T.

What do we have that we did not receive, and if we received it, why do we glory, as if we received it not?