An article published in the American Journal of Orthodontics Feb. 2012 evaluating the effects of playing a wind instrument on the occlusion (bite) revealed the following results: 1) playing a wind instrument ie. clarinet, saxaphone etc. does not significantly affect the position of the front teeth... yea! 2) playing a brass instrument with a large cup-shaped mouthpiece (trombone, tuba) might pose a small (microscopic) risk of developing a bite problem. These subjects were all in professional orchestras, so I'm guessing the number of years and hours a day that the aforementioned reed or mouthpiece was in position greatly exceeded that of your average treasure coast middle schooler! So play on... as long as you don't also suck your thumb, you should be in good shape! Dr L
Rest in peace Clarence Clemons
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