Re: [Harp-L] Playing causes dental damage?

[Paul Weber <peweber573@xxxxxxxxx>]

Drew-

A few considerations for your dental health. Do you floss regularly? Do you
make sure to keep your harps clean as not to allow bacteria to fester
within? I would recommend flossing daily- it has made all the difference in
my dental health. If your gums bleed when flossing that means they're
inflamed and thus taxing your immune system. Furthermore, exposure to germs
is wildly increased as a harp player and adequate oral hygiene is necessary
to avoid illness- think about all the nasty germs one encounters in a bar
setting. Someone sneezes, someone coughs,you shake hands, you touch the
bar, touch the floor. Yeesh.

Good luck!


On Sun, Apr 21, 2013 at 6:58 AM, Drew <drew@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > I tried searching the archive but "teeth" and "dental" bring mostly comb
> and using dental tools to shape, gap, change pitch if reeds.
> >
> > I'm having a bunch of dental issues in lower front.  Probably due to
> extensive orthodontics 30 years ago, but a periodontist kept
> asking/insisting I must have had a tongue ring (I don't, never did)
> suggesting that that would account for the problems I'm having.  I tongue
> block and slap a lot on some rhythm breathing exercise I play every time I
> practice.  I rarely contact the harp with my teeth, perhaps only on high
> end of the register on draw split octaves as you need to cover more holes.
> >
> > Does anyone know, can long term playing of any sort negatively impact a
> players long term dental health?
>
> Regards,
>
> Drew MacFadyen
>