Saxophones Dental and oral hygiene issues

[Saxodent]

I have an article from this month's Dentistry CO.UK. regarding mouthpiece and instrument hygiene.
It makes for some rather interesting reading.
However I do not know how to add the link email or document
regards Saxodent

 

[Stephen Howard]

It's here:

http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/3807-Musical-instruments-strike-toxic-note-for-hygiene-

Nothing much new there, though I don't give much credence to the anecdotal reports...there are too many factors involved.

There's a in-depth look at the subject here:

Mouthpiece hygiene

Regards,

 

[Two Voices]

I agree with Stephen.

Personally speaking I reckon you've got more chances of catching something nasty from the peanuts in your a local 🙂))

 

[Saxodent]

I agree to put it in perspective.
The general hygiene of most musicians is pretty dubious at best!
The medical articles you refer to are I might point out between 16 and 40 years old .
A lot has changed since then in the world.
This was this year and they would not have run it unless they thought it was relevant today.And it was from an American Journal!
What people do with their own kit does not surprise me although it does concern me.
Herpes Simplex,Hepatitis B and others are here to stay. Oral TB is also on the rise.
Sharing , swapping or trying mouthpieces without cleaning or disinfecting them is the worrying thing.
Some years ago I used to give Howarths sterile surgical wipes for their mouthpieces.They were much appreciated although i have not been back for some time to know if they still do use them.
There is a reason I have to wear gloves and sterilise everything but maybe I will just give my mirror a wipe on my shirt the next time another woodwind player comes in?!

 

[jonf]

The secondary reporting of the research in dentistry.co.uk is actually pretty reasonable and unsensational. A couple of points, though. I run a medical research database for my day job, and so have lots of contact with academic, peer reviewed journals (over 700 papers published on our data) and it's clear to me that 'learned' journals are no less susceptible to the attractions of a juicy, newsworthy story than any other sector. This is a story that, whatever the facts, makes good copy.

Also, of course, dentists have to take much more care over transmission to and from patients than the public at large, due to the volume of patients, the frankly disgusting state of some and the ever present threat of litigation. I have had the misfortune to have to visit the dentist a lot more than most, and I am pleased and reassured that all the dentists I have seen take hygiene very seriously.

However, the real nub of the problem is that the human mouth is, if you analyse it, a pretty disgusting place (ask an A & E nurse what they do if a victim of a human bite comes in). The fact is, though, in most cases our bodies cope with exposure to all sorts of nasties, and I think it is the same with things we come into contact with via musical instruments. There is always a risk, but there's a risk to everything in life.

A final thought, on risks and benefits. Kissing. When you're about to give someone a snog (assuming you haven't been repulsed by breath that would cut steel) do you clean and disinfect them first?

 

[Saxodent]

It depends on how much you have had to drink first I would think!

 

[Taz]

The medical articles you refer to are I might point out between 16 and 40 years old .
A lot has changed since then in the world.

Yup, first of all you wash the kids (now using non-touch soap dispensers) then they fall over so you wipe their hands (with an alcohol wipe that you carry in a disposable plastic bag) then they come in (and get washed again still using the non-touch soap dispenser) then they eat their dinner (off plates washed in a dishwasher that almost reaches autoclave temperatures) then, just before bed they get hit by the soap again (yup, probably from the same non-touch soap dispenser)
Then what happens? They go down with every bug or virus that's known to man!
When I was a kid I ate worms! Very rarely was I ill.

 

[Paul Warner]

Juicy!

 

[SaxyMalcolm]

Yup, first of all you wash the kids (now using non-touch soap dispensers) then they fall over so you wipe their hands (with an alcohol wipe that you carry in a disposable plastic bag) then they come in (and get washed again still using the non-touch soap dispenser) then they eat their dinner (off plates washed in a dishwasher that almost reaches autoclave temperatures) then, just before bed they get hit by the soap again (yup, probably from the same non-touch soap dispenser)
Then what happens? They go down with every bug or virus that's known to man!
When I was a kid I ate worms! Very rarely was I ill.

I agree entirely, everyone gets the cold and flu and everything else thats going every year in my household, except me. I think its because I kiss my Labrador!!!🙂))

 

[Taz]

Oohh Labrador snoggs mmmmmmmmmm

 

[kevgermany]

There is a reason I have to wear gloves and sterilise everything but maybe I will just give my mirror a wipe on my shirt the next time another woodwind player comes in?!

Not me gov, please. I clean my teeth twice a day, don't smoke and clean and dry my mouthpiece after every session. Haven't got as far as sterilising my reeds in vodka, like one member here, but I may just try that.

And as for kissing, it was always a steppng stone to greater pleasures for me, the only pleasure I got out of it was anticipation. Really can't understand why we have to do it.

On a serious note, my teacher won't, under any circumstances, play anyone else's mouthpiece. He gets a herpes attack very easily. And when he gets a new mouthpiece, it's not far off being autoclaved before he plays it.

You make good points, however there's always the counter-argument that an over sterile environment understimulates the immune system.

Where to draw the line.... One thing that worries me is the thought of re-infecting myself if/when I restart after playing with a lung/sinus infection - as I appear to have done now.

 

[jonf]

Oohh Labrador snoggs mmmmmmmmmm

I wish I'd never mentioned snogging now........

 

[TomMapfumo]

At least he doesn't want to marry or avoid you.............:shocked:;}

 

[Paul Warner]

I must resist all such enticements because I don`t have an immune system. They switch it off if you have rheumatoid arthritis. Mind you, it doesn`t sound as though I`m missing much!

 

[picconose]

I don't know (at least not first hand) about snogging with Labradors. But being a side-sleeper, and a snorer, I can state with some experience that you have not lived until you've been awakened with a collie's tongue in your mouth. 🙂

 

[kevgermany]

Best I've head for a while, great start to the day! 🙂)) 🙂)) 🙂))