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 01932 857585
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Dr Bryant has more than 20 years experience in the treatment of embouchure, facial pain and dental problems of musicians and has lectured widely in this area.
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Brass and woodwind instrumentalists benefit from the specialist skills available in the practice for advice and treatment of embouchure problems involving the teeth and muscles of the mouth and jaw. Corrections of tooth positions and angulations for improved embouchure formation, fixed bridgework and implant stabilised dentures are all available to improve and extend musical careers.
String instrumentalists benefit from the improvement and treatment of face and neck muscle pain and the associated dental discrepancies that may contribute to this condition, easing discomfort and possible over-use injury.
>> D.H. Warlingham, Surrey
"All I Want For Christmas. .," etc"
subsequent to the accidental damage to my front crowns, I effectively lost my embouchure. By being prepared to experiment with different crown lengths, you gave me the opportunity to test drive the alternatives, to the point where I now have a better setting than my natural original setting. To a brass player, the teeth are the primary hardware, more important than choice of instrument or mouthpiece. There is an immediate improvement in my tone, lip flexibility, range, power and performance durability. To say that I am grateful does not fit the bill. I feel I have been given back my technique and embouchure which I had played from for forty years. Thanks again.
>> B.W. Surrey
I first became aware of a problem with my teeth/gums when I was in my mid twenties. My local dentist did his very best to help me but after a while it became apparent that I needed more specialist care.
I was referred to a dental hospital and after a while the suggested form of treatment was surgery on my gums, i.e. a gingivectomy. I attended the hospital regularly and had many appointments with the hygienist. The major problems that I experienced were numerous large and extremely painful abscesses which in due course resulted in bone loss and mobile teeth. It wasn't at all unusual for me to arrive at the hospital in the early hours of the morning waiting for them to open so that I could get some much needed relief by being given a course of antibiotics.
By the time that I was in my late twenties I had to face a terrible decision. The only answer was the removal of my two upper front teeth. This was not something that any women would want to hear but as I am a trumpet player the effect was totally devastating. Everybody in the dental department were fantastic and it was at this time that the word prosthetic became part of my regular vocabulary. A partial denture was made for me, the first of varying sizes as I lost more teeth, and varying designs. I was able to continue playing the trumpet but there was always the worry of something going wrong with the partial denture plus the strange feeling of a foreign body in my mouth which made it that much harder to play the trumpet.
Eventually there were so few teeth left that the dentist was faced with an almost impossible task of trying to find a successful way to anchor the partial denture. By this time I was using an enormous amount of fixative to hold the denture in place and spent most of my interval from playing in the ladies cloakroom trying to fix my teeth so that I could continue in the second half. As you can imagine this had quite an effect on my mental health.
I had heard about implants but the dentists that I spoke to most probably meant well but didn't encourage me in this direction.
In my greatest hour of need I was told about Mr Graham Bryant and I had my first consultation with him in May 1996. He agreed to do the surgery necessary for the implants and the treatment commenced in the July of that year.
The rest is history as I have never looked back from that day. I am now able to play with confidence and of equal importance I have regained my self esteem.
>> I.R. London
Dental Implants -a saxophone players experience
One of the worst things that can happen to a reeds or brass player is to have dental problems. I would like to write about my experience of dental implants, that might give hope to some musicians facing this type of difficulty.
I lost my four front upper teeth in a bicycling accident at the age of fifteen. This did not stop me, however from taking up the clarinet and later the saxophone. In spite of the hindrance of false teeth I still managed to pursue a professional career that included playing on hit records for Wham, Dee C. Lee, Robbie Nevil and the Beach Boys.
On a visit to the dentist I was informed that the continual contact of the plate I had been wearing for 25 years was jeopardising the health of my remaining teeth. I was advised by one dentist to have a bridge made, but was nervous about how strong this type of arrangement could be. My next move was to phone the Musician's Union (MU) main office and ask if they could advise me.
I was put in touch with Graham Bryant, a dentist specialising in treating musicians. After an initial examination we discussed various options including a redesigned plate, a bridge and implants. It was explained to me that by implanting a pair of titanium 'screws' into the bone between my remaining teeth, an extremely strong platform could be created. Onto this could be fixed natural looking teeth that would appear to be growing out of the gum.
I was told that the resulting teeth would actually be stronger than the natural variety and would be permanent. I was concerned about possible damage to my remaining teeth but was assured there would be no problem. Since creating a bridge would require filing down at least two perfectly healthy teeth I decided to go ahead with the implant option.
The procedure was carried out over about nine months. During most of process (apart from two weeks after the implant operation) I was able to play normally. The last leg was ten months ago and my new teeth have been functioning perfectly. My embouchure is better and more stable than ever.
I found Graham Bryant extremely understanding of the problems and fears of a musician whose livelihood and passion is bound up with his ability to blow his horn. For me, the result has been more than I had hoped for both in terms of playing, improved appearance and convenience.
I would recommend any M.U. members facing the end of their career due to dental problems to talk to Dr Graham Bryant.
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