I haven’t been to the C&F message board in years but I thought this would be the ideal place to ask this question. Have any fluters out there had a gum graft on the bottom front teeth? I had to have a graft about 9 days ago and am a little worried about what playing flute will do to it. My periodontist wonders if playing flute may have contributed somewhat to the problem in the first place. I asked her about playing flute now that it’s done and she said it should be fine but as she is not a musician herself may not really understand the positioning, pressure of the flute, etc. I picked the flute up and played three days ago after I got the stitches out and there isn’t any pain when I play but it definitely feels different, as I knew it would. Just hoping it’s not a bad kind of different.
Anyone had experience with this?
Hi Tiff: I’ve waited to respond in order to allow others to chime in: however, it appears as this isn’t a common problem, so I thought I would add my experience. Tiff is my friend and my teacher, and a fine teacher she is, I might add. At any rate, about 5 months ago, while playing my Bohem flute (usually, I don’t play the silver flute as I enjoy the “Irish flute” much more) for a protracted period of time (3 hours), upon putting the flute away, I noticed that my front bottom tooth (#25 to be exact) was very loose. I contacted my MaxioFacial Surgeon and he saw me immediatly. He said the tooth needed to come out and an implant would be necessary, if I wanted a front tooth. To make a long story short, about four and half months later, the implant process was complete and it worked out very well. In discussing the matter with my doctor, he said that playing could have played a role in the loss of the tooth, but he seemed unable or unwilling to make a definate statement to that effect. My regular dentist seemed to feel that it most likely did play a role, but both are not players of the flute (my regular dentist is very musical however, as he sings to me throughtout my procedures, has a lovely voice, just wish he would learn some Irish tunes). Now, I’m older and I recognize that gum tissue loss is a product of age, even though I’m very careful about oral hygene, floss all the time, and keep up with regular cleanings and any needed dental work. As a point of interest, the lighter, boxwood flute that I play has never caused me any associated problems. In fact, I continued to play the Irish Flute throughout the implant process and the teeth on either side of the gaping hole were not affected. I have concluded, rightly or wrongly, that the weight, the slick surface, the lip plate and perhaps the balance of the Bohem Flute may have contributed to my problem. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 