My son continued to play trumpet after he got his braces on, but the braces did affect his playing. Initially, it hurt when he played and the braces cut his mouth. The wax did not seem to help him. Marching band season was pretty tough. He eventually adjusted but had a drop in his range. When the braces came off he had a lot of trouble with range and endurance. He had to work really hard, but his braces have been off for over a year and he sounds great now.

My flute player decided to sit out band now that she has braces but I had a talk with her band teacher who said that she herself managed to play flute through her years with braces. Said it just takes some getting used to.
I think my kid is using braces as an excuse, she hasn't even tried to play with the braces on.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone's DC been able to continue playing the trumpet with braces? My DS is quite upset about the prospect of trying to play with braces.

Let him try it out. My dd had to play the trumpet with her braces but it hurt. The school also could reassign the instrument so since the trumpet hurt with braces, they moved her to clarinet. The pain went away though the braces metal would often scratch the mouthpiece big time. But at least she is comfortable and not in pain.