Any tips for band member getting braces?

My dd plays the trombone and had braces for two years. She said it was no big deal having the braces and it didn't hamper her playing at all.

Wax, lots of wax. (My son plays trumpet and baritone.)

My DD plays clarinet. No problems. She didn't like the wax. It was a little more painful after a new set of wires, brackets or tightening but nothing that affected her play. Chapstick is something she uses frequently.

my son found it quite difficult with braces- he played trumpet and sax...used lots of wax but still sore++

Having a few friends in band and now two kids playing, I've heard it depended more on the instrument. The flute players I knew didn't have problems. The trumpet, baritone, and trombone players said wax was needed until they grew comfortable with it. I knew a few band members didn't play on the days of adjustments due to general discomfort.

You can't eat popcorn with braces? Is this something new? You can't bite into an apple, bite corn on the cob or eat hard candy/chew gum but popcorn is fine. Just make sure she brushes and flosses.

It don't think braces are as much an issue for those who play a wind instrument like the flute, where the upper and lower lips don't press solidly against the mouthpiece. My son played baritone, and he was sore initially and he started out using the bumpers, but they were a pain to use, so he just used a lot of wax until the inside of his lips "toughened" up a bit.

My DS's director was not thrilled to hear that his first-chair trombone player was getting braces, but DS rebounded pretty quickly. My two kids got their baby teeth late, lost them late and so were late to getting braces. Most of DS's friends (he's going into 10th grade) have had braces and are done with them. DS still has at least until February. And then DD will get them.

My MIL's cousin came to visit right after DS got his braces. He's a band director and we were talking to him about how to deal with playing the trombone with braces. He said that when he was a kid and got braces, he put a rubber fishing worm over the braces to cushion his mouth! He got so used to playing with the fishing worms in his mouth that when he got the braces off, he still wore the worm!

He was in 8th grade. Like I said, most kids had already been through the braces thing around here. Our dentist prefers to wait, and I'm glad he did. DS actually lost his very last baby tooth the summer before his ninth grade year. They just circumnavigated that tooth when they put the braces on.