Bite plate needed.......

[Tonehole]

I have a Sugal that is missing the bite plate..... What would be best to use as a replacement? A friend suggested dental plastic? 5 minute epoxy? Fill with crazy glue and allow to harden?

[MojoBari]

If you are willing to use a tooth patch over it, there are many epoxies that will work. If not, there are fewer great choices. I would stay away from the 5-min epoxies. They set before the bubbles rise and pop.

For black, I've been using a 2-part Acrylic I got from McMaster-Carr. JB Weld will do a good job but is grey in color. Ferree's sells "Jet Black" epoxy that is decent. I've used the JB Weld and Jet Black to repair broken tips and corners too.

Your original bite plate was probably a machined thermoplastic insert that was glued in. Attractive, but they can fall off. Moisture wicks its way under the plastic and tooth pressure treats the insrt like a tiddilywinks.

[jtrey]

my biteplate on a LT king gurdala fell off.. been using JB Weld.. works great..is it ok not to use a mouthpiece patch with it.. i find it plays better but worried about using it bare.. are there other epoxies you can use without a mouthpiece patch?

[MojoBari]

With a little digging, you can get a MSDS for just about any material that describes its risks. Many companies have them on their web sites.

For epoxies, they generally descibe the individual components as toxic to some degree. This goes for dental grade epoxies too. But when thoroughly mixed and cured, they are inert (safe). But you should read the MSDS sheets for yourself.