Music and Dental Health
The Oral Health Dangers of Brass and Woodwind
Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby and skill for a child to have. This hobby is not as harmless as it may seem, however. Researchers have found a variety of bacteria, molds and yeasts on various locations and chambers of woodwind and brass instruments.
These bacteria and molds can cause infections around the mouth and contribute to the development of asthma. Some of the bacteria the researches found were even resistant to many of the antibiotics available to general practitioners.
This makes it extremely important to safely disinfect the instruments after each use. It’s important that not only the mouthpiece be cleaned, but other parts of the instrument as well, since the bacteria and molds were found throughout the instruments.
