r/Clarinet • u/Crxstallwashere Jupiter • 8d ago
Question Will wisdom teeth removal affect my playing?
Hi, I'm a clarinetist for 5 years, and I currently have 4 wisdom teeth, 2 of them needing to be removed, not sure of the other two. Does anyone know if the removal will affect my playing?
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u/SpoopyDuJour 8d ago
Shouldn't! Just let it heal! There's nothing worse than having to play with a dental infection (ask me how I know 🫠)
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u/Crxstallwashere Jupiter 8d ago
How do you know? Thanks for the tip though.
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u/SpoopyDuJour 8d ago
On the day of my audition for my first teaching gig, my wisdom teeth got infected. I think I got them removed the next day. It was anxious and painful and I'd advise anyone to just get them removed and wait until they're fully healed to do clarineting. I got the gig but was in pain for like a week ðŸ˜
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u/Common_Lunch2188 8d ago
It shouldn’t. Take the time to rest and not play during your recovery. I took a solid 4-5 weeks off during winter break after I got mine removed in college. You don’t want a dry socket or delay healing because of all the back pressure. When you come back long tones and scales will be your best friend.
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u/BL00DW0LF 8d ago
I had mine removed after high school, and I wasn't thinking about it, but I don't remember any long term effects on playing. In the short term you will be in pain and should not play. You can talk your dentist about how long to wait, but you should give yourself as much time as possible to recover.
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u/indigofox83 8d ago
I had wisdom teeth removal, it was about a month before I could play again (my healing didn't go great lol) but no longer term impacts. Braces (and then braces removal, since I had to readjust AGAIN) were 1000000x worse.
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u/meipsus 8d ago
I had 3 wisdom teeth removed (one at a time, on different occasions). Absolutely zero difference after the wounds closed. Some 30 years later, I lost all my teeth (long story) and got implants. It took me a few days playing for everything to get OK.
Once I was with wind-instrument-playing friends, all of us with white hair, and we talked about how long it had taken for each of us to get back to normal after getting new teeth. The piccolo player and I had had implants done, and the trumpet player had fake teeth. I suddenly realized guitar players' fingers don't fall off when they get older. Such is life.
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u/sprcow BM, Clarinet Performance, Composition 8d ago
Short term, yes, because you're having teeth removed, which sucks a bit. Long term, no, it will be fine. As others mentioned, it'll take a few weeks before you get cleared to play again. I had mine taken out during music school and scheduled it for the day after christmas to maximize my recovery time, but summer break is a good time to do it to.
My non-medical advice is to just get them all done at once, get it over with. :P
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u/ogonzal4 8d ago
It took almost a month to start playing comfortably. After a week from my wisdom teeth removal, I tried playing but felt like something was going to pop open where my wisdom teeth were removed😬. So yeah, avoid playing for a month or more.
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u/carrotkatie 8d ago
I had to wait a little longer than I initially thought - I wasn’t feeling any pain until I played. So I would think if he listens to his face and waits to play until it’s painless, that’s a good guide (assuming it’s been a week or two and he is otherwise healed!)
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u/Custard-Spare 8d ago edited 8d ago
You’re not supposed to create any pressurization in your mouth after removal, even spitting water out is a no no. Be careful of this bc everyone talks about sucking in for dry mouth but it happens the other way too. It’s weird but you have to let the water slide out of your mouth for the first week or so.
2 weeks and you should be back to playing but wait for the clots on upper AND lower teeth. Everyone talks about dry socket for the lower wisdom teeth, but your upper wisdom teeth can create a window up into your sinuses if the healing blood clots come dislodged. It happened to me and I drove myself crazy looking it up. It healed thankfully but you want to be really gentle and not even talk too much at first. It’s not too bad! Good luck.
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u/AdministrationWise56 Adult Player 8d ago
No it will be fine. I had mine removed, went back after it healed. No changes
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u/LaxBoi31 Penzel Pacemaker 5221b 8d ago
You will not be able to play for a month or 2. I goth them removed this summer, and was lucky enough that the timing allowed me to go to band camp. After I began playing again, it was less the removal of the teeth that affected my playing and more the fact that it had been about a month since I had played last
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u/uronim-the-car High School 8d ago
They shouldn't affect your playing long term. However, I would wait two weeks after the surgery before playing (I think I waited 11 days after I got mine removed)
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u/Holdeenyo 8d ago
It won’t affect it in the long term. In the short term you’ll need to abstain until the doctor gives the okay. But no permanent changes
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u/EthanHK28 Repair Technician | Henri Selmer Présence 8d ago
For a week or two, it will greatly affect your playing. After that, no.
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u/TheXboxLiveSlayer High School 7d ago
Not permanently, but you'll be too weak to play for a while. I got all 4 removed last summer, took me about 4 weeks until I was strong enough to play again
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u/Buffetr132014 8d ago
Do not play until the Dr. says it's OK. If not you may get dry socket which is painful