Author(s):
Maria João Ponces 
; Paula Vaz ; Luís Loureiro ; Daniela Afonso ; Jorge Lopes
Date: 2011
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10216/67998
Origin: Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto
Subject(s): Ciências da Saúde
Description
Mouthguards reduce greatly the frequency and the severity of injuries on intraoral tissues (Bishop et al., 1985) absorbing and dispersing the energy of the force impact (Park et al., 1994). The brass instruments known as 'lip-vibrated instruments' (Baines, 1993) are played by blowing air through closed lips. The pressure applied on the lips, particularly the upper lip, can cause laceration and bruising. The use of mouthguards can prevent those damages producing some relief on orthodontics patients playing those instruments. The aim of this work is to describe the technique of elaboration of an individualized orthodontic musician mouthguard (OMM) that prevents injuries not just on soft tissues but also on appliances while it allows simultaneously orthodontic tooth movement and a good performance playing music.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: An individualized protective mouthguards made of Bioplast (Scheu- Dental, Germany), a thermoplastic copolymer built of ethylene vinyl acetate (Josell and Abrams, 1982), was constructed to a trumpet student orthodontic patient. The elaboration of the appliance is described step by step. Additionally to this was performed a literature search on PUBMED with the keywords oral, protectors and music. We found 8 articles related to the subject but only 5 were selected.
RESULTS: The patient BP, gender male, 15 years old, trumpet student, began orthodontic treatment. During training, the strong pressure exerted on the lips by the mouthpiece caused damage and prevented good performance. The delivery of the OMM gave a great relief to the patient allowing him simultaneously blowing the air through the lips.
CONCLUSIONS: The OMM should be prescribed to any instrument brass musician orthodontic patient. It prevents laceration and the pain related to the bruises associated. Connected to the features of this appliance, the qualitative performance of music playing is not affected and orthodontic tooth movement can go on without delay or obstruction.
