crusty mouthpieces

[Bluemilk262]

is it bad if my mouthpiece has all this gross orangish crap in it? i dont clean it or anything and when i do, theres stuff still on my mp. should i get a new one? is there anyharm that could come of not replacing it?

and also, does playing a lot move your teeth? i seriously think that my top front teeth have moved out a little because of my sax.

[fredfrog]

Hi there,
new to the forum, but old at playing. Try thoroughly washing your mouthpiece in soap and hot water, then rinse with vinegar. You might want to air out our sax case and get some new reeds as well.

[Gandalfe]

Clean the residue (aka crap) from your mouthpeice whenever it gets to a gross level, preferably before. Use warm water and dish cleaning soap. Do NOT use a metal scratch pad such as an SOS pad. Rinse well and dry. Total time investment, five minutes. Results, priceless.

You could conceivably move your teeth by playing sax too long or with too hard of mouth pressure on your mouthpiece. But I suspect that would be a rare case indeed. The next time you go to a dentist, talk to him/her about that. At this point, you shouldn't be concerned though.

[Morry]

When I was about 14, my orthodontist tried to talk me into switching to trumpet, since playing sax would contribute to the overbite problem he was working to fix. I told him, and my folks, that wasn't going to happen. So, yes, it can cause some movement to your bite.

[Gandalfe]

Did it change your overbite significantly?

[eagle 0 four]

Hey, been playing for as long as I can remember but I'm new to the forum. If your teeth are really bothering you you could try putting one of those plastic protectors on your mp if you haven't already. It actually adds to the nasty build up on the mp but that is taken care of by cleaning it in warm, soapy water. The protector is not expensive, just an oval piece of plastic that you stick on and can get at any music store. It may help pad your teeth if you are bitting too hard on the mp when you play.

[Lowell]

For a very thorough cleaning, use toothpaste and a toothbrush to scrub inside and out. Soak in vinegar to remove the white deposits of dried saliva. Disinfect with bleach for 2 minutes. Rinse well in cold water and towel dry. All the nasties ( seen and unseen ) should now be gone.

[sax maniac]

when attending honor bands and whatnot and i have to play for hours strait, my top teeh do usually move, sometimes it can be somewhat painfull :(

[Ritchie]

If your teeth move while you play you definitely bite too hard. Relax! The mouthpiece patches eagle suggests are to keep the vibrations from your teeth and to give you a better grip with less pressure, they are not designed to sink your teeth in.

For cleaning your mouthpiece, first put it into luke warm water for some time, then use the toothbrush and the other things mentioned here.

[Cameron Wigmore]

Wash your mouthpiece man! :?

If your teeth move while you play, you have gum disease.

If your talking about over the period of years, well, yes, your front top teeth are affected by having the mouthpiece against them. Even if there's a proper minimal amount of pressure, they'll still be affected a bit by resting on the top. If you chomp down try playing without resting your teeth on top as an exercise. Your emboushure could be wrong and if your reed is too hard or tip opening too wide you'll know when you try to play without resting your teeth on the mouthpiece.

[tyler_terlecki]

simple word of advice, with hard rubber mouthpieces, ALWAYS use COLD or room temp water to clean, and never hot water, the heat will warp the mouthpiece, one of my friends had "cleaned" his selmer mp, and had to buy a new one after.... not best thing for the luxery mp budget;)

[MusicMedic]

I too would warn against harsh abrasives (toothpaste might be one of these), hot water, and too many chemicals.

To wash a mouthpiece just use cool water and a little mild soap. Take some extra time and clean it carefully. Denture Cleaner will also work and is mild.

[Alto_Sax_Guy]

Well, that explains why my overbite won't go away.....

[Tenorsaxer]

Dude, I dunno about you, but my Ax is way more important to me than a little teeth movement. Don't stop playing cause of something that a dentist can fix.

[amalfitano_hamilton]

and also, does playing a lot move your teeth? i seriously think that my top front teeth have moved out a little because of my sax.

So what?!?!?! David Letterman is cool, gap teeth and all. Chicks dig sax players. Put them together, and you'll be a really cool guy that chicks dig. Forget about it!

Oh, bad news. Chicks in middle school and high school haven't learned to dig sax players yet, they just think we're band geeks. Couple that with bad teeth and, well, after college everything'll be o.k.!

[Howlin]

Stop eating while you are playing!!!! :mrgreen: If you clean mouthpiece and reed each time you have finished you will avoid these problems and will defer buildup of deposits that become difficult to remove.

[TrebleClef]

That'd disgusting, clean your instrument out. As for teeth movement, I believe it can move your teeth but if it gets really bad, get a retainer or something. Nothing as minor as a tiny bit of teeth movement is enough to make me quit my instrument.
Oh, and in regards to the "chicks dig sax players" comment, I think it depends on where you go to school. I'm in high school at the moment and that first chair sax has caught my eye for sure :D Two french hornists and a sax player from my band have decided that they're going to make a movie entitled "Two horny girls and one saxy man" and rate it BGO (Band Geek Only). If you see it in theaters sometime in the next decade, go watch it!

[Dan000892]

I don't think sax playing would have a horribly bad effect on your bite. Clarinet playing, perhaps...

When I was in middle school playing clarinet, I was told (by my dentist) that it wouldn't help my overbite, but probably make it somewhat worse. When I started playing sax, I was told that it may help correct my overbite. It seems to have helped. I also have TMJ now though :roll: origin unknown.

As far as teeth moving, drink more milk man! I play bass clarinet and I have a very tight bite. Tight enough that after one concert I had established two dents in my mouthpiece (one 1.5mm deep, the other 2.5mm deep) and a 1/2cm gouge from my two front teeth. Rock solid, even with two hairline cracks in the one!

[beth]

my front teeth move a lot...but im a rare case, hehe. my front two teeth move up and out when playing reeds, in when playing smaller brass (trumpet, cornet, horn), and after wearing my retainer which moves them back into correct position, and causes lots of pain when i try playing after wearing them (so i gave up wearing them, its pointless). i mean, it's not like they're lose and move significantly...but they move...as they have practically no root to hold them in place (i stunted the growth of the root when i ran into some kids head and gave him 7 stitches...and i got "tooth trauma")
its a weird situation, my orthodontist never realized the problem, and the braces (twice no less) probably made it worse...and my dentist just realized the extent of the damage at my last appt a month or so ago. he told me if i never touched another instrument again...i could keep my teeth...
if not...my two front teeth will be gone in a few years...
what a quandry...

obviously, i'm going with some fake front teeth, heh.

[Vortex]

If you really wanna do the job right, a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol (aka trailer park vodka) should do a very thorough job. Two other options are swabbing the 'piece out with lemon juice or vinegar, but it won't disinfect the mouthpiece.

[Sigmund451]

If you really think your teeth are moving (they might be) you need to also find out if they are returning to a normal state afterwards. Our bodies are pretty resilient. If you indeed think they are staying ask your dentist and the above idea of a retainer...perhaps only at night may do the trick. My guess is your biting too hard and that they are returning afterwards to a normal position. Floss more to strengthen you gums too....Healthy gums hold teeth in place tighter. You may need a planing from your dentist...especially if you are getting near your 40's.

As for chewed up mpc's ....what the heck are you guys doing to those tips ...eating them or something. I never get teeth marks...aside from a few light surface scratches...just a degloss.

[Bloo Dog]

First of all, a deposit on the area of the bite plate area ( as well in the chamber) could be caused by several things: food in the mouth while you play, nicotine if you smoke, skin cells from your lip (most common and obvious on hard rubber mouthpieces), sugar which is in your bloodstream and saliva, and mold (which may be growing on either the skin cells or the sugar/food deposits)

The solution for food deposits and nicotine stains are obvious. Skin cell deposits are nothing that you can do about. Stop smoking, brush your teeth, and clean the mouthpiece frequently. If the orange deposit continues to return despite your efforts to keep the mouthpiece and your mouth clean, you should be tested for diabetes.

Diabetics by definition have abnormally elevated and sustained levels of sugar in their blood. The sugar also appears in the saliva even after brushing and mouthwashing. Consequently, untreated and uncontrolled diabetes leads to tooth decay (because of the sugar in the saliva).

I can't imagine anyone having such a bite problem that his teeth move as a result of playing saxophone without other existing symptoms such as jaw and muscle fatigue and pain.

To me, your problem suggests diabetes with the attendant dental complications caused by prolonged uncontrolled elevated blood sugar levels. Diabetes is easily diagnosed, but it requires repeated testing over time (which you can do yourself with a $20.00 glucose meter purchased at most drugstores). The best thing to do is to have a test performed by your doctor.

My intention is not to scare you. I do recommend that you have this possibility eliminated. Statistics show that both type 1 (insulin-dependent) and type 2 (d.melitus) diabetes are on the rise in America. Often, people live with the symptoms (which are often ascribed to other things) until the symptoms become unbearable and the diabetes has gone wildly out of control.

I ain't no doctor, but I am a diabetic.